I Blame My Imagination
by Bird That Flies At Dawn
Summary: They were from two different dimensions. She had crazy attacks, he was cold and stoic. She had friends, he had followers. The story of the two is a mystery. Her friends had their own problems going on with new powers, friends, and...crushes. This all started with a wish, and three girls felt the results. Be careful what you wish for.
1. Chapter 1

** AN: I have created characters based off my friends and I! They will stray slightly (more like a lot!) from our original personality. What happens when they wake up in the feudal era? Chaos! **

** Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, but the OC's are mine!**

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Happy birthday to you!" Jessabelle and Cinder sang, watching as Jazline rolled her eyes at their screaming.

They finished their song and burst out laughing. Jazline said, "Yeah, I'm fifteen now!"

"You left us fourteen year olds behind?" Cinder cried. "Do you not love us anymore?"

"No! I still love you guys!" Jazline exclaimed.

"Huggles!" Jessabelle called.

They all huddled together before collapsing onto the sheets that they had laid out on the floor.

"Do normal people blow out pretend candles at midnight, celebrating a birthday that technically doesn't happen till six p.m, anyway?" Cinder asked.

"Why of course not," Jessabelle retorted, "but most people aren't as loving and as awesomely ninja-like as we are!"

"Ninja-like? Since when has your obsession with Naruto made you think you're a ninja?" Jazline questioned.

Jessabelle sighed and answered in a strained voice, "For like three days now guys! Keep up, keep up!"

Cinder shook her head and fell back into the pillows. "For a new day and a new age, I think we should make a new wish."

"Let Jazline decide!" Jessabelle said.

"Okay then, Jazline what do you wish?" Jessabelle and Cinder looked at Jazline expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I wish...that InuYasha was real," Jazline told us.

Cinder sighed and turned around. "I'll agree with that any day, but for now I am going to sleep. Peace!"

"Peace!"

The friends didn't have any worries, their world was perfectly fine. They were doing reasonably well in school, they were around each other enough to stay sane, and they had all the anime and other entertaining things they needed. That was all about to change.

(*(**) * (**)*)

Cinder sighed and rolled over, mumbling slightly in her sleep. She felt something scratching her face and scrunched her nose in distaste. Opening her eyes she screamed. Cinder was in a field, surrounding her were a collection of grasses that were long but not extremely overgrown. To her side slept Jessabelle and Jazline. "Guys?"

That's when she heard the footsteps. "Guys?"

"Cinder you know where the food is. Take anything in the fridge, the cupboards, or a combination of both," Jessabelle murmured, waving her away.

"While I may be hungry, Jess, that's not our problem right now," Cinder told her, her voice strained with worry and fear.

"What the hackit do you want!"Jessabelle sat up glaring. It was probably then that she felt the plant life beneath her hands. She looked down confusedly. "What the heck is going on here?"

"Dude, I don't know," Cinder told her.

"Jazline!" she hollered at the top of her lungs.

"Cinder, if you want food—" Jazline began.

"I don't want food, we're in the middle of freakin' no where. I have no idea how we got here. Actually, now that you mention it I really do want food," Cinder grumbled the last part.

They gathered together, listening to the space around them. They had no idea what was happening, but they were slightly scared of the approaching thing that could possibly be a threat.

"I swear I thought I heard footsteps," Cinder mentioned.

"I sense something coming," Jessabelle whispered. Her two friends thought that much was obvious.

"I saw red," Jazline commented. "It was like a flash, but I don't remember these surroundings..."

Cinder stared at her like she was crazy, and she was supposed to be the crazy one. "Are you feeling alright, Jaz?"

"Yea, why?" Jazline responded.

It was then that Cinder spotted the red as well. "I don't want to die yet! I just want some food! I don't even care if we have to kill an animal and cook it! I wanna do random stuff and eat and other random stuff," she rambled. She didn't really know what she was going on about, but their impending absence of life made her freak out, and she began to go into one of her famous crazy attacks. It was like a coma, but instead of the person being unaware and sleeping, the person was unaware and totally out of control.

"What're you going on about, wench?"

Wait a minute. Cinder knew that voice. "InuYasha? I must be going insane. Or I 'm dreaming. Yeah, I might as well have fun in this field while it exists." Cinder laid down in the grass and began to roll around. "One shirt down, grass stains to go."

Cinder could feel InuYasha's eyes boring into her. "Is she always like that?"

"Yeah, pretty much. She'll probably calm down if you feed her," Jessabelle explained. "That might snap her out of her crazy attack."

"Crazy attack?" InuYasha let that one go as the friends looked at each other. Did he really need an explanation when the results were right in front of him. "Can you convince her to walk back to the village?"

"Ooooh, a village! I wanna go to one of those!" Cinder exclaimed. She followed right behind the others as they headed into the least thick group of trees.

"This way then," Jessabelle sang.

"Okay. Do you think there are squirrels in the feudal era?" Cinder thought out loud.

"There are what?" InuYasha replied to her with another question.

"Obviously not," Jazline stated.

"My life is over!" Cinder then began sobbing.

"What's wrong now?" InuYasha groaned.

"There's no squirrels here!" Cinder was disoriented enough, but the news that she couldn't see any more squirrels left her feeling as if she was thrown off a cliff and was currently flailing to her death. That was something she hoped she never had to face.

"Cinder, calm down," Jazline urged.

"No! This is your fault in the first place!" Cinder shrieked, sending her a death glare.

"My fault?" Jazline contested.

"You did make that wish," Jessabelle added.

Jazline just glared at her friend. Words could not express the betrayal she felt at that moment. Jessabelle was supposed to be on her side when Cinder had a crazy attack!

Jessabelle held up her hands innocently. "I'm just stating the facts!"

"Why did you bring that dead donkey bag, anyway?" Cinder chirped in at that moment, interrupting the argument.

"What? Oh, I don't know," Jazline stuttered. She glanced down to see that she was indeed carrying the bag with the monkey on it. Why her friend had named it as she had, she had no idea.

"Well you shouldn't have brought it," Cinder declared.

"Well you brought that old lady bag!" Jazline bantered. She thought the pink flower bag at least _deserved_ the name it had!

"Whatever, insult me why don't you." Cinder crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, feeling violated by the comments her bestie made.

"But you just said..." Jazline trailed off, seeing no point in continuing their disagreement further.

InuYasha then swept his hand across the view that lay in front of them. "Well, here we are."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey, Jordyn (A.K.A. The 5th Alice) this was first on your list, and you gave me your list before Jackie (A.K.A. Canada-chan). So I decided to update this first, yay!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned InuYasha, but I don't.**

Cinder immediately snapped out of her crazy, panicked mode. Maybe this was because she was staring at the scene that often haunted her dreams, or maybe it was because of the sickness she could feel spreading through her body. All of a sudden, none of it mattered, because she dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Cinder!" Jessabelle kneeled, lifting the body of her friend in her arms. "Jazline?"

But it was too late, Jazline had collapsed as well. Jessabelle was frantic. Well, until her eyes rolled up into her head and she lay on the ground next to Cinder.

InuYasha glanced at each of them individually. From Jessabelle with her short, light brown hair, to Cinder, the girl that had stared at him with wide, gray eyes. Then he glanced at the other girl. They were all pulsing strange auras at the moment, but hers was the strangest, unlike any creature he has ever felt before.

He felt a presence beside him, and knew his Kagome, always so sweet, was assessing how to help them even when she did not know them. She bent down to pick up the smallest girl, the girl with the bob. Though she seemed to be struggling, she did it without hesitation. InuYasha sighed and grabbed the girl with the gray eyes, picking her up without a problem. The only difficulty would be holding the other girl at the same time. It was then that Miroku stepped onto the scene, glancing at Jazline before smiling and gripping her tightly.

They carried the fainted girls back to the village, thinking they blacked out from shock. That was before Cinder began to scream bloody murder.

The pain she was experiencing was beyond anything she had ever felt before, worse than any fire she could imagine, and she was scared to death of fire. She suddenly knew how that Bella girl in Twilight felt when she was changed. But Cinder knew this was no story book, it was absolutely and positively happening to her. She tried to joke as she shrieked, for some odd reason thinking of roleplays and bananas.

But she couldn't keep straight forward at the goal she had made. She was searing. Her body wanted to kill her as her mind pleaded for this to be over, anything to stop it. Anything. But it was not so.

InuYasha set her on a mat that Kaede layed out, the other two reacting in different ways. Neither of them like Cinder however. Jessabelle was gasping, out of breath and seeming to be overwhelmed, almost as if something was entering her. Jazline seemed to just be embracing something. Her eyes squeezed shut and her fists clenched, her teeth grinding against each other. She was waiting for it to fully consume her, and who knew when that would be. Cinder, to say plainly, was just in pain.

Jessabelle opened her eyes first, gasping and gaping like a fish. She turned her head immediately at the screams. "Oh no..."

Cinder couldn't stop it...it...this ice, this fire that hated her so. It was worse than being killed over and over, it wasn't worth it. Her life wasn't worth it unless what waited for her in the future was perfect. She couldn't imagine that it would be. She was sure this searing pain would consume everything and her life would be a bleak one.

Jazline woke soon after her friend, her eyes widening at the screams. She turned to face her friends, asking, "What's wrong with her?"

Jessabelle looked back at her, shaking her head and the tears spraying around her. "I don't know."

And that was the worst part. They didn't know what was wrong with her, so they didn't know if they could help her, or what was even wrong with her.

But that didn't make Cinder stop screaming, screaming even though she was unconscious.

And then blackness fully took Cinder, swallowing her completely. Her screaming cut off abruptly, and this made friends worry more. InuYasha, Kagome, and Kaede left the hut, leaving the two girls to cry over their friend in private.

The didn't speak, but definitely gasped at what they now watched. They didn't believe it for one moment, but it was real. Cinder...wasn't really Cinder anymore. Demon Cinder was now staring up at them with green rimmed gray eyes, the normal dark, almost black ring around those colors.

Cinder stood in an instant, back against the wall as she hissed, baring fangs. InuYasha was in the hut almost immediately as the violent sound escaped her lips. Cinder didn't process what was going on really, the instincts so strong and animalistic that she let them control her. Her now much sharper eyes landed on InuYasha and she crouched lower, recognizing him as a threat. The hanyou seemed pleased that she did so and didn't even really seem to worry about her presence, and she knew if it came to a fight he would win. So she didn't lunge forward.

"Cinder?"

The girl who no longer knew herself heard her name and responded, her eyes snapping to the short girl. She seemed...familiar. And then memories raced through her and her once threatening eyes widened and she gasped, no longer focusing on them.

It was almost as if Jessabelle realized that the girl was no longer a threat and hugged her, but something painful was through the now demon Cinder and she shoved the girl to the side, glancing at her arm and the burn marks that now adjourned it. She didn't mind this pain compared to what she felt before, but it was certainly unexpected. She opened her mouth, but shut it immediately, having no idea what to say.

"Purifying powers."

All attention now focused on Kaede.

"What?"

"She purified you."

Jessabelle looked up with shock and worry at Cinder, but the girl smiled, showing she was alright.

"She's a miko..." Kagome whispered.

What none of them realized was that Jazline wasn't paying attention, her eyes foggy. Out of nowhere she pushed InuYasha down.

"Hey!" he screamed as he was knocked over...and just as a demon roared through the hut where he had been standing. Kagome quickly shot an arrow at it, the demon erupting with a shrill shriek and being absorbed by the deathly pink light.

"I saw that," Jazline informed the half-demon quietly.

InuYasha looked up at her, shocked.

Cinder giggled. "A girl from the future who can see the future."

Jessabelle smiled. "And a crazy, morbid girl who is now a crazy, morbid creature."

Jazline grinned wickedly. "And a girl who always tries to purify our worries can now purify her own."

And when they looked at each other, they knew that this was meant to happen and had been destined to be since they were born.

Then InuYasha ruined the moment with his loud mouth. "Great, what are we going to do with them now?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor do I profit from this in any way...except maybe the joy of writing this, but I don't think that is something I should be disclaiming...or is it?**

"Let's try this again."

Cinder flicked her black cat tail, her ears pinning to her head in annoyance. She whined, "I can't do it!"

"Keh." InuYasha rolled his eyes, propping his sword over his shoulders. "You're a demon. You have to learn how to fight. The deal was I train you, and Kagome trains Jessabelle."

Cinder pulled her lips back over her exposed fangs and nodded her head. "I know. I guess I..." But the truth was she really didn't know how to explain how she was feeling. Waking up as a new person was like one morning you had a child and the next she was dead in a ditch. You were missing a part of yourself, and you had no idea where to go from there. That was exactly how Cinder felt.

InuYasha sighed. He really wasn't one for compassionate conversations, but he realized this must be overwhelming for the girl. She had been sent from a different country and a different time to be turned into some weird creature. She must still be in some kind of shock. "I understand that, but you need to learn how to fight so you're not a burden!"

Cinder glanced to the side, realizing his words made sense. "Alright, so what do I do know?"

"Well," InuYasha started, "we've learned you panic easily and that makes you have crazy attacks." He had found that out the hard way when she had gone nuts when his Iron Reaver Soul Stealer had glanced off her leg, running in circles and screaming about some hospital and cell phones and such.

"Sorry!" Cinder immediately shouted. She knew she caused such a ruckus, but she couldn't help freaking out. It would be her ultimate weakness.

InuYasha just smirked, putting his sword away. "Why don't you come at me this time?"

Cinder seemed wary but hollowly nodded. InuYasha braced himself, crouching in a slight fighting stance. "Go."

Cinder followed his orders, kicking off the ground in a quick paced speed, one of the only things she had on him. She wasn't strong or good in mindset, but she was fast. She was at the hanyou's side in seconds, pausing and reaching her claws up...only to be slammed into the ground. Okay, strategizing wasn't her thing either.

InuYasha sighed. "That was better than the last time." Cinder smiled from her place on the dirt. This time she had attacked first instead of him, where she mostly dodged badly and screamed.

"I don't think I'm fit for this," Cinder admitted, sitting up as InuYasha released her.

InuYasha frowned, his eyes darkening. "I will tell you one thing. You have potential, and you trying means something."

Cinder smiled despite knowing she wasn't that good, at least not yet. If she had to face an enemy, especially Naraku, she would be defeated quickly, and that wouldn't be helpful for her comrades. So she clambered to her feet and went back to the starting point, getting ready for another attempt.

She didn't wait for the signal, but instead pushed herself off of her feet, hurtling towards the half-demon. Instead of stopping, she continued forward, sliding down at the last moment and running into his legs, knocking him over. She now laid on top of him, her ears pricked and her mouth ajar with excitement and pride.

Cinder stood up hastily, InuYasha doing the same while he dusted himself off. "At least that time you touched me."

The newly turned cat demon took the praise with open arms, realizing she finally did something right. "Thanks."

InuYasha's cocky demeanor returned. "Well, I think you took enough pummeling today. Let's return to the village."

"Alright!" In truth, Cinder couldn't wait to go back to her friends and tell them everything as well as hearing their own stories.

InuYasha ran quickly and Cinder kept pace with him, almost wishing to start a race, knowing she would win. But she didn't, that would cause too much trouble. So she let herself be content with being near the other demon, however partial, and running with the wind.

They soon reached the village, and Cinder was immediately knocked over by Jessabelle, Jazline standing more hesitantly behind her, a wide grin adjourning her face. Cinder laughed. "Well, I missed you, too."

Jessabelle let her out of the embrace and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the hut. "We have so much to discuss."

Cinder nodded. "That we do." She had so much she wanted to tell her two best friends, the ones who had been with her through it all. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she was happier. Honestly, she was sort of unhappy in her own time. As friends they were always cheering each other up, but they knew something was missing. Yesterday they had found that something, and now here they were.

Jessabelle collapsed onto the wooden floor of the hut, Cinder following soon after on her stomach while Jazline more carefully placed herself into a sitting position. Cinder then said, "InuYasha and I trained today...although I freaked out a lot. Anyway, he said that if I get stronger I'll probably change forms to my mortal form and my true form. He said this is just my undeveloped form, kind of like Shippo."

Jessabelle smiled. "Kagome and I talked a lot today. She said I'm better at hand purifying than with weapons. We found that neither of us are very good with barriers though..." She giggled slightly, and Cinder had to wonder with curiosity what had gone on between the two mikos.

Jazline listened to her friends before adding, "Kaede tried to help me focus my powers today, but neither of us really had any knowledge of them so it's just a little bit difficult."

The two friends felt for her, but didn't know what else to say. Out of all of them, it was surprisingly Jazline that was having the most difficulties with her newfound abilities. But they were all immediately shocked out of their thoughts by a anger-laced sneer.

"Keh. What are you doing here, Sesshomaru?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, no matter how many times I wish the opposite...**

Cinder's mouth opened in amazement, not letting her look away. Her tail froze its almost constant movement and her ears pricked forward. What she saw was like nothing she had set her eyes upon before, especially before she had become a demon.

Sesshomaru was like a savior, wiping away doubts and traces from her mind with his white hair, traces of a slight silver shimmer, and peering golden eyes. Her inner youkai was screaming one message at her over and over; mine.

And it was then that Sesshomaru glanced at Cinder.

She was just a child to him, a young youkai but already gifted with the body of an mature demon. He could tell she could be no older than fourteen or fifteen. He had decades on her, but he couldn't keep his subconscious quiet. There was something about her, something that called to him. And in that moment there was no doubt in his mind. He wanted her by his side, forever and always.

The connection between them lasted only a moment before they were distracted by the sound of a sword being unsheathed. "This is between you and me, Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru almost let out a sigh as he unsheathed his own sword silently, his cold mask never moving. InuYasha jumped at him suddenly then, his face one of fury. Sesshomaru simply held up his sword, blocking his half-brother's attack. InuYasha was then shoved backwards. He seemed to be angered that he hadn't been able to touch his brother, but he never had in the real series either, but Cinder was still horrified and worried beyond belief when the hanyou raised his sword in preparation to use the wind scar.

Cinder didn't really even know she was doing when she leapt in front of the fully capable demon lord, her stance crouched and her teeth bared in an audible hiss.

"Cinder!" InuYasha screamed. "Out of the way!"

Cinder snarled. "No."

Sesshomaru didn't know what to think about the daring demon in the odd kimono. It was nothing like the clothing of Kagome, but more like she had taken a kimono from around here and tailored it, which he was guessing she did. She seemed strangely protective of him even though he didn't need it. He sensed that she knew that as well. Then why did this nearly powerless youkai offer him the gesture?

InuYasha glared angrily at the girl and slowly approached her, not taking care to notice that Sesshomaru stood right behind her. "You cannot tell me what to do. I've taken you in, trained you, and protected you. Now move."

The girl, Cinder he'd called her, stood defiantly and met his eyes without hesitation. "No."

InuYasha snarled and spat on her, shoving her to the side without care. The girl made an impacted thud that automatically had Sesshomaru reeling. How dare InuYasha so rudely touch her. Sesshomaru could feel his eyes bleeding red as her reached out and gripped InuYasha's neck, holding him in the air. "You will think carefully next time before touching what I claim as mine."

Cinder looked up at him, shocked. Did her one move mean so much that Sesshomaru was protecting her, or was his demon blood singing as well?

Sesshomaru dropped InuYasha all of a sudden, padding quickly to Cinder's side. He reached his hand out to her and she took it, being pulled into a standing position. They said nothing for a while, just letting their eyes talk. It was clear they both didn't understand but definitely understood at the same time.

"Come with me," he told her. Cinder quickly obliged, falling into step behind the youkai as they hastily retreated from the clearing. The sounds of her name followed her as she left, but Cinder couldn't turn back. Something more awaited her, she knew that and wasn't about to give it up.

"Cinder!"

Jessabelle opened her mouth to scream yet again when she caught sight of Jazline, tears actually making their way down her face. She knew that Jazline cried easily, but she never expected her to at a time like this. "Jazline, are you okay?"

Jazline turned her now purple eyes to Jessabelle's own hazel ones. "Jess, I...I just thought we weren't going to lose her this time."

It was true that Cinder got herself into of plenty...situations, but neither of them had expected this. Cinder ran off with the ice prince himself, gone now, and they could do nothing about it. They had lost her to Sesshomaru, and who knows what could happen to her now.

Cinder stood with Sesshomaru circling her. She felt so incredibly exposed it was as if she was naked. But she knew she was clothed even as she crossed her arms in front of herself, shivering. Sesshomaru met her terrified eyes and wanted to erase all of that. He never had felt emotions as he was experiencing now, but somehow he knew they were already predestined.

Cinder could feel his large and powerful aura, and cringed within her own, knowing she was almost completely powerless and probably a total useless burden. Why would the dog demon be taking such interest in her as to actually be closely inspecting her.

He grasped her chin, tilting her head up and staring intently at her gray eyes rimmed with green. Interesting. "What kind of demon are you?"

He could smell her scent, and it was definitely cat, but he wanted to hear her say it. He wasn't sure why though.

"Cat youkai," she answered quietly, but he as well as her could hear the missing 'I think'.

Sesshomaru did not say anything thought, just stepped away, not taking his eyes off of the strange demon. She seemed to be slightly wary of him, huddling more deeply in her strange clothes. She didn't really seem to be afraid of him, but more of an overall nervousness.

He didn't want her to feel that way.

"If you are joining me, you can be my ward as well as Rin and I'll train you to fight."

Cinder's ears perked, and she seemed happier already. Though the demon lord could tell she was clearly inexperienced and untrained, he felt no disturbance in helping her, so helping her he would do.

They then walked back to where he had left the rest of his pack.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN FOR JORDYN: You're getting a lot of these lately, huh? Anyway, JJ, review. I'm serious this time!**

**AN for Everyone Else: I'm not sure what the pairings should be in this story, so I'm going to put a poll up for it. PLEASE vote on it!**

**This chapter is going to be longer than the others because I don't know exactly when I will update again, but if it is as I hope you will only have to wait a few days. Maybe I can write in the car...then you guys won't have to wait long at all! Let me know if you guys like the longer chapter idea!**

**Disclaimer: I, in fact, do NOT own InuYasha. I do not own my friends either, but I do own the characters that I based off of them...well, kind of based off of them.**

Cinder let the small girl braid flowers into her hair. Rin was much like she had remembered from the original anime, which seemed no longer to apply to this realm. She was sweet, kind, and loved to be places and to get around in general. She also _adored_ Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru was much like she had observed over her technological devices as well. His handsome features and stoic personality were the same, but he had seemed to open up. Though it was slight, there seemed to be a change in his actions and words.

Especially towards her. Cinder didn't know why he acted different to her, but she wasn't complaining.

He stood now as she nervously flicked her tail, her eyes wide. His own eyes watched her every move, and she waited for his command.

"Go."

Cinder ran at him again, using her speed as her only advantage. In any other area she paled in comparison. She had no idea what to do once she reached him though, and she felt his claws grace her side. It was a shallow wound, but as with InuYasha, she could not keep her mind straight.

Cinder began to run in a circle, screaming her head off. Mostly she yelled random phrases, ones that the dog demon did not understand. She was in some kind of trance, but he had never seen someone react so poorly to a battle before. He quickly hoped she wasn't going to be an untrainable burden, keeping his eyes on her as she ran in random directions.

"It's on fire, on FIRE I tell you! My mom told me so, she told me!" Cinder shrieked, her eyes wide. In moments when she did not know what to do or was faced with something sudden, she panicked. Not always by choice either.

"My cell phone is broken. How am I going to call for help? Nine-one-one! It's an emergency I tell you." Cinder was starting to run out of breath, and finally she passed out, falling to the floor in a heap.

Her crazy attack when they first showed up in the feudal era was totally different than it was now. It had been a more calculated and calm attack, one where she had not passed out.

Sesshomaru approached the unconscious body, wondering what was wrong with her. Was she mentally unstable? That was what it had looked like to him. Nonetheless, he picked her up and made his way back to Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un. Rin bounded up to him as he carefully sat the cat youkai onto the ground.

"What's wrong with her?" his ward asked.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully.

A groan sounded to the side and they watched as Cinder sat up, her ears pinning to her scalp as she held her hand to her head, mumbling unintelligible words. Her eyes widened then and she turned them to look at Sesshomaru and Rin, Jaken have taken Ah-Un to better grazing grass.

Rin spoke first. "Are you alright, Cinder-chan?"

"Yes, Rin-chan," Cinder said softly, getting to her feet quickly.

Sesshomaru kept his blank face on her, curiosity getting the better of him. "What happened?"

Cinder sighed and turned away from them. "It's called a crazy attack. I don't know why I get them and even the therapists were baffled."

"Therapists?" Sesshomaru wondered.

Cinder gasped, realizing she had given something away. She glanced behind her slightly before telling him, "Where I come from therapists are people who talk to you about your mental health."

_So I was right,_ Sesshomaru thought unhappily. _She's mentally insane._

"What does that mean for you, Cinder-chan?" Rin asked, her eyes gone large in curiosity and worry for her new friend.

Cinder sighed again. "It means that even though I might appear normal, there is something really wrong with me."

Sesshomaru didn't like hearing her talk about herself that way, but didn't voice his thoughts on the matter. Rin gave the same displeased expression, but before she could say anything Cinder went on.

"Sometimes I feel like this is a dream. One day I'll wake up and lose the little world I've built for myself," she informed them sadly.

"That's ridiculous," Sesshomaru retorted. "This Sesshomaru is in no dream."

"That's just it," Cinder argued. "You _were_ a dream for me!" Her eyes widened then and she covered her mouth with her hand, snapping her gray and green orbs back to the daiyoukai.

"What does that mean?" Sesshomaru asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Nothing!" Cinder squeaked, huddling in on herself.

Sesshomaru eyed her over once, taking in her current guilt and position. "I think not."

Cinder didn't say anything in reply to that though. How could she just tell him that she was from the future in some different country in a what was probably a whole different dimension, one where he didn't exist. She couldn't.

Sesshomaru didn't look ready to let it go, but that was hen Rin screamed.

"Sesshomaru-sama! What is that!"

Cinder immediately straightened and looked to the side where the most ugly thing she had ever seen stood with a wide grin. It's teeth were uneven and jagged in its evil smile, its eyes glowing a hazy red. It cackled as it shook it furry body, its six legs twitching and a pair of bat-like wings flapping in rhythm on its back.

Sesshomaru drew his sword. "Watch Rin."

Cinder complied to the order easily, gripping the girl and leading her back to Jaken and the dragon by his side. Sesshomaru and the demon dodged each other and landed blows as if dancing. It wasn't until Rin shrieked again that they realized the original demon had brought a friend.

**(Line break since my fanfiction recognizes nothing else!)**

Jessabelle stood by Kagome's side, listening intently. It seemed as if the girl from the future really didn't have a lot to teach her, just how to shoot an arrow and concentrate her miko energy. Jessabelle learned early on that she couldn't shoot an arrow and put miko energy into it at the same time. It just wasn't possible for her. Shooting only the arrow she had managed to almost hit the target. With the miko energy in it she had fallen over and shot it into the sky where the energy had died out and the arrow plummeted quickly back to the earth.

The one thing she could do was concentrate the energy to her hands and touch things. They purified almost instantly. She could shoot close range beams as well. And by close range it was only four feet at most, maybe not even that.

Kagome and her had both been practicing on putting up a barrier together. At last they had succeeded, if only for a few seconds. The girls had cheered and danced around like idiots before repeating the news to the others. In the few days they had been together, the two mikos had grown very close, as was to be expected.

Jazline had also been trying out her powers. Her friends and companions told her she appeared absolutely captivating when she had a vision, her eyes glowing with a bright white light and the air around her becoming slightly windy, raising her hair in a little breeze. Her eyes were normally a shocking violet, rivaling Miroku's in the way they shone in an unnatural way.

Jazline often received visions at random, having no idea when they would come. The few that she had had were about minuscule demons and everyday tasks. The ones she forced on herself were often painful and not worth her while, so she had stopped trying as hard that often. Now she just occasionally tried to make herself have visions, focusing on certain things when she did so, such as Cinder. Other than that she just tried to comprehend her visions better. It was helping her somewhat.

Both of the friends were worried about Cinder. Anything could be happening to her and they would be clueless to it. That's what worried them the most. They could only hope the best for her.

**(Same as last time!)**

Naraku watched from his demon detachment's eyes as they demon girl and Rin fled the battle scene. The girl caught his attention. There was...something different about her, something that separated her from her companions. Her aura had a unique feel to it, almost as if she didn't belong.

He wanted to know her secret.

He switched to the other demon's eyes as the human ward screamed and hid behind the hissing cat demon. Well, he would soon find out what she was hiding.

**(LINE BREAK!)**

Cinder felt the blow to her arm as soon as the claws sunk in, but she worked especially hard not to give in to her crazy attack, wanting to protect the little girl by her side. But a different part of herself called, one she had not been expecting and could not fight, leaning into it automatically.

With a shrill shriek Cinder changed in a flurry of green smoke. Instead of the girl with cat features, she was a cat in form. She had sable fur that reflected the shadows themselves and glowing green eyes that were rimmed with a brilliant crimson. The cat was about the size of a lion, small for the true form of a demon, but was so incredibly fast that it made up for her lack of size.

The cat youkai was on the demon within a matter of moments, snarling loudly. Cinder let her instincts take over and barely had any control as she sunk her claws deep within the furry hide of the howling demon. She laughed in a yowling cat voice, her green and red eyes watching the suffering of the creature in front of her.

Cinder narrowed her eyes then, bunching her back legs and jumping onto the demon, using her unsheathed claws for support. The demon's hands finally found her and thrust her to the side. The cat demon made an audible thump as she hit the tree. She hissed and scrambled back to her feet, throwing herself at the demon and biting it's throat out, standing over her kill growling.

Sesshomaru had finished his demon off moments before Cinder had. Although she had the noticeably weaker demon to deal with, her was still surprised that she had been able to take care of it with her lack of training. The cat's wild eyes met his then and she pulled back blood stained lips, stepping back before running off into the forest at an astonishingly fast pace. Sesshomaru followed after, barely keeping up with her. He had to catch her and get her to resume her mortal form before she injured anyone...or worse.

**(Line break...again!)**

Naraku played the scene over in his head again, not really completely processing what had just happened, but he didn't fully have to. What he did know is that he had more reason to want to know the girl's secret.

"Kanna!" he called out.

The emotionless albino approached him, her mirror held in front of her. "Yes?"

"Show me her, the odd demon girl," he ordered with a wave of his hand.

"As you wish," Kanna responded in her usual soft spoken voice.

The mirror went blank with an opaque white gleam before a scene played before them. In it was the black cat, making its way through the forest with ease, leaping over rocks and into trees. The mirror then traveled back, and just a few hundred feet behind it was Sesshomaru.

Naraku narrowed his eyes. With the Lord of the West there it would be twice as hard to capture the demon and he was not content with this yet could not change that factor.

"Kagura."

With less loyalty than her sister, Kagura walked into view. Her red eyes watched him without care, utterly bored but showed her shocked when he spoke next.

"I want you to go after that girl."

"What?" Kagura let out, unable to understand what she had been told to do. More like not understood the reason behind it.

Naraku glanced at her with an angered expression before saying, "Because, I wish to be informed of that strange girl's secrets."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN FOR Jordyn: You know the drill by now. I'll know if you read this, so don't try to trick me!**

**AN: This really isn't my favorite chapter, but please let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha.**

Cinder felt her cat body be slammed into the ground. She snarled loudly, struggling against her unseen foe.

"Cinder."

She turned her head up to glance at the creature belonging to the detached voice. It was then that she recognized Sesshomaru, going limp as she did so.

"Concentrate on the other side of you," Sesshomaru ordered, trying to instruct her on how to return to mortal form.

Cinder did as she was told and suddenly she was surrounded in a green fog similar to before. Sesshomaru still pinned down the girl, but then stood up, letting Cinder sit up. She was missing the cat ears and tail, but the fangs and claws had remained. Her eyes had returned to their usual gray and green. Emerald lines were dashed across her cheeks as well as ones that were under her eyes.

Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment before turning away, expecting her to follow. Cinder did just that, keeping herself only steps behind her lord. Yes, she had decided to make him her lord. Why not live in the Western Lands? There was no way she was going to be able to return to the United States, not like she wanted to anyway.

The demon lord stopped in a sudden movement, causing Cinder to nearly fall over as she tried to keep from running into him. A low growl rumbled from the inu youkai as he stared at their enemy, one that Cinder was now peering at as well. She would recognize that fan and haunting red eyes anywhere. "Kagura!"

The wind sorceress gazed at her with surprised eyes. "How do you know me you pathetic cat?"

Cinder hissed lightly at the insult, not replying to Kagura. Kagura took the hint and attacked anyway, thrusting the fan towards Sesshomaru and herself.

"Go and protect Rin," Sesshomaru told Cinder. The cat youkai nodded and was covered in a green fog again, letting out a shrill shriek as she changed from face to feet. Now in her true form she took off in the direction of the ward. She had to reach Rin before Naraku did.

Cinder burst through the trees with a large crash, spotting Rin as she cowered against a tree, Jaken and Ah-Un standing in front of her protectively. The Naraku puppet was as fake as the others, just a baboon suite without a soul. Cinder padded in a fighting crouch to stand in front of the little girl as well, her teeth bared.

"Cinder-chan!" Rin exclaimed.

Cinder turned her green and red eyes to stare at the girl in the orange kimono, nodding her head before facing the puppet once again.

"What's this?" the puppet taunted. "Is this the party the great Sesshomaru sent to defeat me?"

Cinder growled and flicked her tail angrily. She could see the truth that the puppet spoke. Jaken was a weakling of an imp, his only powerful asset his staff. Ah-Un was probably the most useful out of all of them. He could fly Rin out of danger. Cinder was untrained and just had to rely on her sketchy instincts to protect the ward. But still, as the leaves fell around her in a tornado of Autumn colors, Cinder knew she had to keep her eyes on the puppet and focus on protecting Rin. If she was home she would have played in the leaves and been care free. This was how things had changed.

**Come closer and I'll kill you**, growled Cinder in youkai.

The puppet began to laugh. "You? You won't even lay a finger on me."

"No, but I will."

Cinder's attention as well as everyone else's snapped to the side of the clearing. There stood InuYasha with his sword drawn, smiling cockily. He wasn't alone though. By his side was Kagome with a notched arrow, determination set in her eyes. Shippo stood behind her. Sango had her weapon slung over her shoulder, Miroku holding his staff in front of him. Kirara glanced at Cinder and the two cats met eyes, the nekomata tilting her head to the side in curiosity. But what Cinder really stared at was Jazline with a sword in hand and Jessabelle with her hands glowing with a pink light.

The troop glared at the puppet who finally realized it was out numbered. He backed away, not daring to take on so many people, but he wasn't going to abandon his mission either. Cinder felt herself be lifted into the air by her neck, snarling loudly and kicking her legs.

"I came for you, cat youkai, and I'm not leaving without you," Naraku purred in an animalistic voice.

"Then you're not leaving."

Cinder saw a flash, and then she was on the ground, coughing as she took air into her lungs. Above her was Sesshomaru, sword in hand. Following him into the clearing was Kagura, a sneer plastered on her face. "Come here, puppy."

Sesshomaru glared at her, but held his sword high, bringing it down on the puppet. The man in the baboon cloak disappeared and was replaced with a wooden figure. Sesshomaru turned his cold and intimidating eyes back to Kagura who now realized her chances of winning were pretty nonexistent. She smiled and plucked the feather from her hair, throwing it onto the ground. The feather transformed as was expected. Kagura fled the battle scene.

InuYasha hung his sword over his shoulder. "Keh. That was kind of lame."

Kagome rolled her eyes, relaxing her bow. "InuYasha, we avoided the battle. What's so wrong with that?"

The two continued to bicker, everyone ignoring them. Honestly, couldn't the pair get along for one day?

Cinder pulled herself to her feet, shaking out her fur and taking in a gasping breath. Rin climbed on top of her, pulling on her ebony fur. "Thank you, Cinder-chan!"

Cinder purred, the throaty sound making its way to Rin. The girl laughed loudly before scrambling back down onto the ground. Cinder surrounded herself in a green haze once more, now standing straight in her mortal form. Her kimono was just as screwed up as it was before. Well, she actually kind of liked it. The kimono was a handful of kimonos ripped apart and then sown back together, ending up being a flurry of colors. She had tied the sash in a way which she now realized was completely wrong; it ended over her right shoulder, hanging over her arm.

Jessabelle and Jazline were staring at her; Cinder stared back. The three then ran at each other, embracing. "We missed you, Cinder."

"I missed you, too, guys," Cinder replied, "but I'm going to stay with Sesshomaru-sama and Rin-chan."

"What!" Jessabelle said. "Why?"

Cinder sighed. "I'll get better training and I can't leave Rin alone now."

Jazline seemed upset but nodded. "We'll see you later, Cinder-chan."

The friends broke up and then started on their own way, Cinder with Sesshomaru and the other two with InuYasha.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Okay, I really need people to vote on my poll. Sesshomaru's and Cinder's fate is practically set, but the other five choices are in a dead tie. So no romance until another person votes. Except for maybe in this chapter... Anyway, I really would like a review since multiple people are reading this chapter for chapter. Thanks to The 5th Alice for being my continuous reviewer! I love you girl!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned InuYasha Sesshomaru would make more appearances. I love Fluffy!**

"Jazline!"

She felt herself be knocked over, but everything went blank. And not in the sense that she was shocked, because she knew what was happening, the pricking feeling entering her eyes. Then she was rushing through endless colors before the world abruptly halted, making her vision self nearly collapse in a heap. Somehow, she managed to save her balance and her unseen dignity.

She glanced around the hazy realm, only seeing the usually foggy white. She wondered if it would be like a short movie, or more commonly, just a quick group of snippets. She never realized how wrong her guesses would be.

A giggling sounded to her right, and Jazline turned, waiting. It echoed again, and Jazline made a hasty decision. She would follow it. She walked over logs and under tree limbs, finding what had caught her attention. The girl was pretty, her heart shaped face surrounded by ebony locks, her chocolate brown eyes inviting. What Jazline hadn't expected was for the cute woman, who was wearing traditional garbs and armor, to turn to her as she continued giggling. It wasn't the sounds that seemed not to fit the girl, but the clothes.

"Hey!" she called, standing.

Jazline stepped back in shock, wondering how the girl was interacting with her. The girl ran up to her, grasping her hand. "I have to show you something."

"Who are you?" Jazline managed to get out.

The girl's answering laugh was brightening, almost ingenuous, despite how the girl was dressed. "My name's Midoriko."

Jazline gaped. Midoriko the miko warrior? But this girl was so innocent, naïve even. How could she be the one who forged the jewel and purified demons with ease? "But..."

Midoriko began her giggling again. "Come on, silly. I have to show you something!"

Jazline let herself be dragged as she pondered her current predicament. This was nothing like how she had imagined Midoriko, but Kagome had a similar personality. Was it something about the two mikos that gave them such carefree souls? Even Jessabelle acted similarly. Maybe that was why Kikyo would never be able to possess the amount of power Kagome did. The older priestess was too..._tainted_.

"Where are we going?" Jazline asked, sounding like the curious one for once. She usually kept mute, but this was not one of those times.

"Shhh," Midoriko hushed. "You'll see soon enough."

Jazline grumbled quietly under her breath, unhappy about being quieted when she rarely talked. She thought she had the right to know their destination. Midoriko apparently did not agree.

"We're almost there," the miko added quietly.

Jazline continued to allow herself to be dragged, but they suddenly stopped and Midoriko shot her a grin, parting the bushes without a sound. What she saw made her mouth open in utter shock. She never thought she would see the sight that lay in front of her, not even a lower scale form of it.

Sesshomaru kneeled in front of a crying Cinder, the look in his eyes was heartwarming. Jazline had only thought him capable of his usual cold stoic nature, but he was showing none of that to her friend now. As she watched, he took one clawed finger and wiped her tears away, calming her with a quiet noise.

"Why?" Cinder asked, searching his eyes, seeing more emotion in them than was even available to Jazline. She could tell because unlike the demon lord, her best friend was very readable to her.

"Why what?" he purred, his deep voice still trying to comfort the deeply upset girl.

"I thought you didn't care," she whispered, averting her attention, suddenly finding some nearby moss very interesting as she fingered its spongy green surface.

Sesshomaru growled, a sound that Jazline was much more accustomed with. "I don't know what made you think that, but it is very untrue." And as the seer watched in disbelief, Sesshomaru leaned closer, touching his lips to Cinder's. Jazline gasped and quickly covered her mouth, afraid that since this vision was interactive, the pair would notice. Luckily, they didn't.

Midoriko sighed. "They are so cute together!"

Jazline glanced at her, not knowing what to think. Here her best friend was doing what she hadn't imagined her participating in in a thousand years, but somehow her surprise was long gone. With Cinder's weird attachment to the youkai, it wasn't so hard to believe something of this nature would occur.

"Yeah...I guess," Jazline responded, having no dead set answer for Midoriko.

The miko squealed, once again tugging on Jazline's arm. The seer nearly tripped and fell flat on her face as Midoriko yanked her into a small and odd clearing in the middle of the dense forest. "Okay, I have to leave for now, but I'll see you soon!"

With that the miko bolted, and before Jazline could even take a step she was once again surrounded by a mirage of colors. Then, with a snap, she was back to reality, Jessabelle hovering over her while InuYasha slayed the demon they had been fighting.

"Jazline?" Jessabelle asked as Jazline put a hand to her head, groaning at the pounding feeling. "Are you alright?"

Jazline's purple eyes snapped to meet Jessabelle's concerned hazel ones. "Jessabelle, we have to talk."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I really need one more person to vote on my poll. Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top! JJ, send me your vote over PM and I'll accept that. I have heard of your troubles.**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned InuYasha, but I don't.**

"It's official!" Cinder cried in frustration. "Eating utensils hate me." With that she threw the chopsticks at the nearest tree, gruffly sitting back with an irritated grumbling.

Sesshomaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was young, yes, but that was one of the first manors taught to demon kits. He wondered why she did not know it. If only he knew she had grown up in America, where they used forks and spoons. "You cannot complete a task as simple as this?"

Cinder immediately felt terrible, hiding her face with her hair, her side bangs getting in the way of her eyes. She felt awful about disappointing her lord, but could not deny him an answer as well. "No, Sesshomaru-sama."

The demon lord said nothing, but before Cinder could apologize a pair of chopsticks was in front of her. Cinder brought her eyes up to the inu-youkai's beautiful face, searching for some hint. She hesitantly took the wooden items, but held them awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Sesshomaru let out a kind of grunt, but an almost amused one, taking her hand in his own. He held her fingers delicately. "This is how you use this tool."

Cinder felt silly, but she was caught up in the lesson as well. She could easily hold the chopsticks on her own after Sesshomaru had held her hand. It was like he had passed his wisdom to her. Cinder giggled happily as she was able to lift the food into her mouth, smiling cheekily at Rin who laughed loudly. More like guffawed. The two girls then began to throw food at each other, covering themselves in the sticky rice.

Sesshomaru huffed. How he found the cat youkai so...vexing was an oddity, even to himself. She was a child, and this was seen by her immature behavior. He towered over the ningen and kit now, anger found in his words as he ordered, "Bathe. Now."

They dared not disobey, and stood hastily, exiting the field to where they knew the hot springs were. They had passed them on their way to their current camp. Cinder still found it funny, no matter what Sesshomaru thought. He was just too uptight. She wasn't going to tell him that though.

They undressed and Cinder began working on washing their clothes so they would be dry when they exited the waters. Even at home she had to do her own laundry. This wasn't any different. Okay, it kind of was...

She finished quickly though, the rice sliding right off the fabric. Cinder hung them over a sturdy umber branch. When satisfied by her handiwork, she slid into the spring next to Rin.

"Cinder, can Rin tell you something?" Rin asked, always the conversation started.

"What?" Cinder replied with another question, coaxing the younger girl into telling her what was on her mind.

"Rin thinks Sesshomaru-sama really likes you," Rin informed her, her teeth showing as her lips pulled over them in an excited expression.

Cinder chuckled. "He likes you too, Rin."

Rin shook her head, a frown gracing her all of sudden. "No. Sesshomaru-sama likes you different. Like a mommy and a daddy like each other."

Cinder blanched, pretty sure she looked like a white piece of paper at this point. Was that even possible? Could Sesshomaru even show that kind of...that kind of...love towards her? No. The cat youkai shook her head. It couldn't be possible. "I think you're mistaken, Rin-chan."

Rin glared now. "No, Rin knows what she's talking about. She has traveled with Lord Sesshomaru for a long time now."

That she had to give the girl. Rin did know him pretty well. Cinder was so insecure and small at that moment. She had no idea what to do. "Rin-chan, what should I do now?"

Rin waved her off, her usual happy aura returning. "Something that makes him purr of course."

Cinder was confused. Dogs didn't purr, but this reaction that Rin was talking about had to be good. "What should I do?"

Rin shrugged. "Rin overheard someone at the Western Castle say that if they purr then they like you. Something about hair and markings."

That was all the information that Cinder needed. She was going to figure her secret lord out. She just knew she was going to screw this up.

Rin and Cinder pulled on their clothing, tying the obis and various knots for each other. Cinder's was especially complicated. Why had she made her own kimono again? Oh yeah, because she's stupid.

Rin looked like a monkey as she pulled Cinder back to camp, skipping along the way. Becoming a demon had only improved Cinder's balance in the slightest, and she was pretty sure she tripped more than Rin did. Which was zero times. Great, now she was a disgraceful and naïve youkai from the future in a different dimension. Just her luck.

Rin winked at Cinder, falling down onto the ground near the fire. Cinder shivered, not really wanting to get closer to the fire. It was a sort of fear and dislike, but either way it bothered her. Even more that she was a cat youkai now. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but she suppressed them with much more important thoughts. Such as Sesshomaru.

The demon lord was sitting across the fire from her, looking straight into her eyes. Cinder was waiting for the moment. She finally heard it. Rin's breathing had gone even, Jaken having fallen asleep much earlier. He must have been exhausted from his own tiresome duties.

Cinder got up and approached the other youkai with caution, not wanting to turn him off before she even sat down. Sesshomaru's eyes never left her figure, watching her with curiosity. She let herself lift her hand before thinking twice, bringing it forward slowly, combing it through the demon's long, silky white hair. He said nothing, but he seemed to stiffen, instincts battering against the bars he set up.

Cinder let her hand go all the way through before rising it again, but aimed for a different goal this time. His magenta marking. She lightly dragged her finger along it, and she got what she wanted. A rumbling growl. It wasn't a purr, not a real one, but it definitely could be the dog version of one.

Cinder took his stripped wrist in her own, holding it for a moment before tracing those lines, too. The rumbling became unbreakable, and Cinder found the poser purring almost laughable. What a dog. She took his arm markings between her teeth then, feeling her fangs dig in every so slightly. Did she have any idea why she did this? No. Did she care? No.

But Sesshomaru did. He gasped, holding his hand against her temple. "What are you doing?"

Cinder just let her eyes flicker to his face, not removing her teeth. But of course her knew how to make her let go. He brought his fingers underneath her chin, petting her like she was a wild critter. Okay, so technically she was related to cats, but whatever. Cinder let out her own purr, this one a very real and feline one.

Sesshomaru seemed amused, and kept it up. They went on like that, trading touches they would usually use on a common house cat or a pet dog. It was strikingly obvious by the time Cinder fell asleep it had been a competition of who knew the most animal facts. Cinder thought she won, Sesshomaru though he won, but the tricky Rin, who had ben awake the whole time, thought she won.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha.**

"What the hell!" Jessabelle screamed, not caring for once if she cursed. Actually, the girl cussed whenever she felt angered or threatened. Honestly, how could she not? She was being trailed by Naraku's demon, its lengthy purple tentacles trying to reach around her waist. She screamed as its slimy skin collided with her, her miko energy surrounded her hands and she pressed them to the demon. The creature answered with a scream of agony, kicking her off with a great force.

Jessabelle felt her back hit the tree with thud. She groaned in pain, pulling herself into a loose sitting position. The demon roared over her, furious. She glared at it, not daring to back down. "Come at me, you stupid demon!"

The resonating sound echoed throughout the clearing. Jessabelle held a hand to her cheek, feeling the redness already building there. The demon held its tentacle high, smirking. "Think twice before you speak, miko."

"You're just a weakling. Kill me off already," Jessabelle taunted, seeing no reason not to provoke it.

The ugly follower of Naraku gritted his teeth, hissing lightly. "Miko, do you wish for your death?"

The priestess turned her nose up with a scoff. "As if you could kill me."

With a growl the demon lunged at her, and Jessabelle braced herself, ready for the pain that was sure to come. She waited...and waited. Finally she opened her eyes, realizing that it never would come. In front of her stood a tan man, his dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail and his pelts hanging around him. She didn't even have to look at his face to know who it was.

"Leave the miko alone," Koga growled, his eyes narrowing.

"You protect the priestess, wolf?" the demon questioned, coking his head to the side.

"I will protect anyone set on killing you," Koga answered, snarling. With that he shoved his hand through the demon's abdomen. The monster gasped, taking its last breath before slumping over as Koga pulled his arm back to his body. The demon fell to the ground with a sound similar to the one Jessabelle had made upon impact with the tree.

Koga turned around then, his bright blue eyes staring down at Jessabelle as he frowned deeply. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, getting to her feet warily and wincing from the large, painful bruises forming on her back. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Koga accused, watching as she cringed.

"I'm fine," Jessabelle insisted. She didn't know what the wolf demon was going to do, and she didn't want to know.

The wolf demon took a dip sniff of the air. "Do you travel with Kagome?"

She nodded. Just what she needed, a change in subject. "Yes, I do."

Koga grinned widely. "Then you can show me where she is."

Jessabelle giggled. "Yeah, of course." Kagome would be so peeved! Jessabelle couldn't wait to see what would play out in front of her.

Koga caught her amused expression. "What has you so excited."

Jessabelle laughed loudly. "I can't wait to see how annoyed Kagome is when I bring you back to camp."

"Hey..." Koga trailed off.

"My name's Jessabelle, Koga," she informed him.

"Okay. Jessabelle, why would she? She's my woman!" Koga exclaimed, the emotions of pride and excitement written on his face.

"You know she loves InuYasha," the miko supplied, glancing at him sadly.

Koga seemed to project his misery. "Yeah, it's just I...wait, how do you know my name?"

Jessabelle blanched. What was she going to tell him? "Uh...Kagome mentioned you. I guess the description just kind of clicked."

Koga narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but said nothing further than, "Sometimes I wish that mutt-face would just go off with Kikyo."

Jessabelle gasped as she gaped at the youkai. "Why would you say such a thing! That would break Kagome's heart."

Koga sighed. "But maybe then she'd pick me over the hanyou."

Jessabelle breathed out in realization, but she had to tell the demon how it was. Her eyes now brimmed with tears. She whispered, "Koga, she will never choose you."

Koga turned to the miko, his mood instantly shadowing at her somber expression. "I know." He reached his hand out, his clawed fingers against her face as he wiped her tears away. "It's fine. Just don't cry."

Jessabelle felt herself go stiff in shock, and nodded abruptly. Koga stepped away from her then. "Let's just take you back to camp, okay? I'll go then."

"You can still talk to her, Koga. You can be her friend," Jessabelle suggested.

Koga nodded, responding quietly and softly, "I'll do that."

With that the two walked into camp. Sango lied on the ground, her eyes closed tightly shut. Blood was smeared across her arms and body, the bleeding coming from a long gash in her abdomen. Miroku was propped against a tree, currently unconscious from sucking in too much poison. Shippo and Kirara sat next to Kagome as she bandaged InuYasha's wound, which happened to be another hole in his middle. Kagome herself looked bruised and scratched, but otherwise okay. Unlike the others, she could fight from a distance. Jazline slept near the fire, recovering from the hit to the head she'd taken when she'd gone unconscious during her vision.

"You guys," Jessabelle announced as she limped into the clearing.

Kagome looked up, InuYasha following her example. The two stared at Koga as he propped up the wounded miko, a grim aura surrounding him.

"Jessabelle!" Kagome screamed, running to her and helping her stand. "What happened."

"Oh, you know, just another minion of Naraku," she told her priestess friend.

Kagome pulled her next to InuYasha and sat her down. "I'll treat you next."

Jessabelle nodded, opening her mouth and looking over Kagome's shoulder to call to Koga. That's when she saw him slip into the forest's shadows.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Really, I don't own InuYasha. Not even in the slightest.**

**I now have all the pairings sorted out. Thanks for voting!**

"Cinder-chan, where are your parents?"

Cinder looked up at the sound of Rin's voice. The little girl's eyes held a curiosity that reflected her sad question. The neko-youkai faced away immediately, not wanting to answer. She couldn't hold her tongue for long though. "I once had a mother and a father, but I don't any longer."

"Oh no. Did they die?" Rin asked, her voice wavering.

Cinder shook her head. "No, I didn't lose them to death, but they are no longer reachable."

"What do you mean?" Rin wondered what her friend was going on about. Why couldn't they just visit the demon village?

Cinder ducked down, her hair hiding her face. "You see, Rin, I have a secret."

"What is it?" Rin leaned forward, eager for the reply.

Instead, Cinder changed the subject. "Are you hungry Rin-chan?"

The small girl nodded, grinning widely. She didn't seem bothered much by the flipping concentration. "Yes, Cinder-chan!"

Cinder smiled weakly, standing up and walking into the forest. As she pushed back the now orange and red leaves, her throat constricted. The demon tried her best to hold it in, but as she sprinted in the woods she felt her panting gasps run out as she sobbed. She suddenly halted, leaning against a tree as tears poured down her cheeks.

She had been trying to not think about the life she left back at home, attempting to forget her family entirely. It was worse than if they had died, because then it was final and she could mourn, but because they were alive and out of reach, she'd never know what was happening. So if they really did die, Cinder would never know.

She sank to the base of the tree, pulling her knees to her chest. She couldn't face them now anyway. There was no way to go back anyway. She accepted this, and had no idea why she felt so upset.

The wind tickled her, feeling cold on the wetness that streamed down her face. She shivered, the cold sinking to her bones; she wasn't really that chilly, but the icy feeling was being absorbed inside her. It didn't help with her mood one bit.

"Cinder."

The cat demon snapped her head up, her eyes searching the darkness. In the shadows she spotted a figure, and she eyed him as he stepped out in front of her. She had known who he was already, but still sniffled a bit as he came into view. "Yes, Sesshomaru?"

He said nothing about her lack of using an honorific. He just stared at her, making the neko-youkai penetrating gaze made her feel slightly anxious. He finally spoke, saying, "Cinder, why are you crying?"

She was shocked by his concern, her mouth slightly ajar. She finally turned her head, bringing her palm to her face. "No reason."

"Nonsense," Sesshomaru retorted. "There must be a reason for your tears."

Cinder scrunched her eyes tightly, balling her fists. "I don't think I can tell you."

Sesshomaru thought her words were preposterous. Why couldn't she tell him? "I don't see any reason why not."

"What I mean," Cinder rephrased, "is that I don't think I should tell you."

Sesshomaru growled. "What would you have to say that you could not tell this Sesshomaru?"

Cinder glanced away, her lips already parting. She was going to spit out the words! She was going to tell him! She was slightly horrified by her own actions and his upcoming thoughts. "I'm not...from here."

"Then where are you from? I am guessing it is a far away village for your lack of skills," Sesshomaru stated, his voice filled with some weakly stated emotion that the cat demon couldn't comprehend.

Cinder cringed, taking his comment as an insult. "Yes, it is very far away. So far I'll never go back."

Sesshomaru, though he didn't show it, was astonished. He was known to be as cold as ice, but every sentient being has emotions. "Where could this unseemly distanced place be then?"

Cinder sighed, running a hand through her hair, a newly acquired habit from being around Rin and Sesshomaru constantly. "Well, it's a long story..."

We have time to spare," the lord announced, staring down at Cinder as if she were just another one of his subjects,

She didn't appreciate being pushed around, but obliged to the order without another thought. "I come from where Kagome comes from...kind of."

"Kind of?" the demon repeated.

"Well, I'm not from Japan. I'm not from this time. I'm not even from this dimension."

Sesshomaru's eyebrows raised, the only indication that he was clearly shocked, but she left no room for him to interrupt as she continued her odd stories.

"I come from a country called the United States of America. Japan is halfway across the world, and this country of mine is situated five-hundred years in the future. But in my world, unlike Kagome's, you and InuYasha don't exist. The tale of the miko and hanyou is a story, an anime. We watch it on our magic boxes called TVs and our devices that know all which we have named computers. We read about it, but where I come from, you're a fictional character." Cinder knew if Jessabelle had heard her names for future devices, she would have laughed, but she wasn't here, and now the cat demon was explaining all of her secrets to her lord.

"How can this be?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice impassive.

"I don't know," Cinder whispered. "I really don't know."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, no matter how much I want to. I know, it's sad.**

**From now on, English will be in bold and Pig Latin in italics.**

"I'm going to be sick!"

With that, Sesshomaru and Rin watched as Cinder ran into the forest. Neither bothered to follow. They believed their companion's words, and knew she would be irritated if they caught her in the midst of her illness.

"Is Cinder-chan going to be alright?"

Sesshomaru looked down, meeting his wards innocent eyes. Her innocuous comment had a strange feeling running through his veins. It took him a while to recognize it, but when he did his eyebrows scrunched up. He was uncertain. Yes, that was the emotion. Uncertainty. He truly did not know if Cinder would be alright. He hated the emotion, but had to agree with it. Demons did not usually get sick, and cats were no exception. There had to be something wrong if she was off in the forest unwell from some unknown ailment.

Sesshomaru waited a bit longer before standing and padding past the tree line, figuring he had given the girl long enough. Rin stared after him, a frown settling on her features. He hadn't answered her question.

Cinder was lying on the ground when he found her, her arms underneath her cheek as she groaned. "What was in that stew?"

Sesshomaru thought back to what the villager had given them to eat. It was not unusual, the ingredients had been quite common. "Rabbit meat, carrots, water broth, and tomatoes."

Cinder groaned louder. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"No," Sesshomaru answered. "This is no joke."

Cinder glared, then realized he didn't understand her futuristic language. "That's not what I meant."

The demon lord didn't offer words, but instead a simple raise of his eyebrow.

Cinder sighed and propped herself up on her elbows. "I'm tomato intolerant. I would have thought that as a demon I would have got over it, but..."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. Demons rarely had intolerances or allergies, and she should be no different. As a demon? What did she mean by that? "How can you outgrow something if you have not changed to perceive it in a new way?"

"Well," Cinder mumbled, "there aren't demons in my dimension."

And then everything made sense. He lack of demon skill and knowledge. Her odd appearance. Even though she seemed strange and unique from the humans in Japan, and she definitely had a demon aura and look to her, she overall gave off a human vibe. Instead of sinking to the background or being very bold as most demons were, her gray eyes with the demonic green rim and dirty-blonde hair gave her more of a mortal air. And then there was the fact of her food intolerance. "You were born a human."

Cinder nodded, not denying anything. How could she lie about the obvious truth? "Yes, I was once a human. I lived in America with my family. We were all human, but now..." the cat demon trailed off and looked down, not knowing what else to say to her lord's discovery. There was nothing else to say. But somehow, after one of the last final secrets being revealed, the girl couldn't help feeling closer to her lord.

(U*U)(U*U)%%(U*U)(U*U)

"Look out!"

Jazline sighed, dodging to the left almost effortlessly. It now seemed that she was getting quite used to battles, especially that phrase.

Kagome shot the demon down quickly, and once again they were on the road.

Jessabelle stood at her friends side, yawning. "So, don't you miss speaking in private?"

Jazline laughed. "Yeah, everything's a little impersonal with A DOG GUY HOVERING ABOVE YOU!"

And truly, her words were correct, for InuYasha had his ears pricked and was clearly eavesdropping. A slight blush coated his cheeks and he famously replied, "Keh."

Kagome giggled from ahead at her beloved hanyou's reaction, sending a wink back at the odd pair that traveled with them.

"Yeah," Jessabelle sighed. "Everything used to be so private when Cinder forced us to learn all those languages."

Jazline suddenly stopped, a shocked look adorning her expression. "Jessabelle, we've been speaking Japanese."

Jessabelle waved her off. "Of course, we'd never understand them if we didn't."

"No," Jazline said with more emphasis. "We've been speaking Japanese!"

Jessabelle blanched, and the rest of the group stopped, watching the two girl's as their eyes widened.

"Hey," Jessabelle shouted to Kagome. "Can you speak English?"

Kagome seemed astounded by the question, it having certainly not been what she expected. "Um, a little. Not very well though."

Jazline smiled, and encouraged, "Say something."

"**Hello, welcome to Japan**," Kagome started.

Jazline laughed. "**So simple! Don't worry, we'll understand anything you throw at us!**"

Kagome joined in on the laughter. "**Alright then! I'll keep that in mind!**"

InuYasha, Sango, and Miroku watched as the three conversed, having absolutely no idea what they were saying. They didn't even try as the two girl's squealed and started to speak something not even Kagome could understand. What was the point? InuYasha sighed and started to move again, the rest of the pack slowly following him.

"_They're so cute together!_"

"_Yeah, I can't wait 'till they kiss!_"

(U*U)(U*U)%%(U*U)(U*U)

Naraku watched the group through Kanna's mirror. The image was foggy, and he couldn't decipher their surroundings, but the group was working together, better than he had thought. He growled out, "Show me Sesshomaru."

The image in the mirror adjusted, now showing a pack of five. The green imp was sitting next to an equally colored dragon, both resting against trees. Sesshomaru had his eyes trained on Rin, his young human ward, and Cinder, his cat demon companion. Naraku couldn't help thinking that even through the mirrors hazy picture, the girl looked sick as she picked flowers. The evil hanyou smirked. "It is now time for our second attack against the Lord of the West and his pet cat."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: InuYasha is not owned by me, no matter how much I wish the opposite...**

**Bold – English**

**Bold + **_Italics – __**Demon Speak**_

_Italics – Pig Latin_

"Cinder-chan!"

Cinder snarled, her eyes glowing red before she was swallowed by a giant ball of green youki mid leap. She landed on the puppet, now in her feline form. The puppet proceeded to grip her neck, pulling her high into the air. "I've been searching for you, my kitty."

The girl turned cat growled, baring her pristine white teeth. _**As if you could catch me!**_

The puppet just laughed. "I already have."

And despite her instincts telling her to provoke the other demon, Cinder could not argue with that statement. She was caught in...quite a predicament.

"Cinder-chan!" Rin shouted again.

Cinder could only growl lowly, trying to warn the girl to stay back. Sesshomaru had gone to hunt, and the pair could only hope the sounds of battle would attract him back to camp. Luckily, it did, but on the other side of the clearing bound in the famous hanyou.

It must be her luck...

The brothers glared at each other before both rushing at the puppet. Cinder couldn't believe how fate had turned against her.

"Keh. What are you doing here?" InuYasha asked snidely, throwing his sword over his shoulder.

"Hn."

And with that, the glare fest continued.

_**You're supposed to be fighting the puppet, not each other! **_Cinder yowled, angry that the brothers had forgotten her dangling off the ground and choking.

The brothers glanced at her before both lunging at Naraku's minion. Yeah, it wasn't going to go well.

"Out of my way!"

"Don't play with me, little brother."

"SIT!"

InuYasha slammed into the ground as Sesshomaru flew at the puppet, his sword slicing it in half. Cinder fell to the ground and shook herself out, gazing at the lower level demon horde that surrounded them.

Kagome ran into the clearing, hands on her hips and daggers in her eyes. Behind her rolled Shippo, easily tripping over the high growing tree roots. Her slammed into the back of her leg, but in her fury she barely noticed. "Can't you guys work together for once in your life!"

"No," they both answered at the same time.

Kagome sighed before spinning on her heel. Kirara broke through the tree line, Miroku and Sango on her back. Jessabelle came next, riding on...it was...honestly, it wasn't clear what the beast was. It was midnight black, fire red stripes decorating its side. It had tall, pointy ears and a long snout with a multitude of fang-like teeth. Its tail was long and thin, creating juxtaposition to its thick and stout body.

It was then that Cinder noticed Jazline behind Jessabelle, her hands woven tightly into the odd creature's fur.

"Go, Migurushii!" Jessabelle screamed, kicking the demon.

Cinder almost face-palmed, but quickly remembered she was in her kitty form. That name was so fitting.

With that, the group battled the oncoming demons. They were weak, but they were many. Cinder stood over Rin and Shippo, swiping at anything that came too close. Migurushii ran around Jessabelle, attacking anything in the arc of her while she shoot purification beams at the creatures within her four foot range. InuYasha and Sesshomaru both slashed at demons, occasionally fighting to get to one before the other. Kagome fired her arrows at the larger, nastier demons that the inu brothers were too busy to get to, mostly because of their pesky bickering. Miroku hit things with his staff, Jazline inexpertly killed enemies with her sword, and Sango fought with her weapon with Kirara flanking her. Working together they finished the horde off swiftly.

"Keh. Sesshomaru and the rest of you, leave," InuYasha demanded, throwing tessaiga over his shoulder once more.

Cinder's lips pulled back from her teeth, and she hissed at the hanyou. Sesshomaru seemed just as displeased, but the others couldn't tell due to his nonchalant expression. Rin and Shippo crawled out from underneath the cat demon, standing at her side.

"Oh, shut up, cat," InuYasha snarled back, wanting to get rid of his brother's group as soon as possible.

"You're just going to kick them out of the clearing after they helped us?" Kagome questioned in disbelief, her eyes wide.

InuYasha sent a glare at Kagome, aggravated that she wasn't on his side. Cinder, agreeing with Kagome, sat down with a large huff. Rin and Shippo climbed onto her back, laughing. Cinder pretended not to notice.

"It would be in our favor to work together," Miroku added wisely.

InuYasha started, nearly falling backwards, and Sesshomaru's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, the largest reaction any of them had ever seen him give. He immediately regained his composure. "You expect me to work with this mutt."

InuYasha growled loudly, balanced once again.

"Yes," Kagome said, smiling. "It would be easier to defeat Naraku."

InuYasha growled even louder as to show his answer, but Sesshomaru retorted, "We shall travel with you. If this does not work out, then you will regret your offer."

Sango tensed at Miroku's side, but didn't speak up. She was being uncharacteristically quiet...

Cinder transformed with her usually green ball of youki surrounding her, but lost all dignity as she collapsed with Rin and Shippo on top of her. She had forgotten about them, and now giggled with them. "Let me up, you guys!"

The pair moved, chuckling still. The cat demon stood up, brushed off her patched together kimono, and ran at her friends. The three of them hugged briefly before pulling apart.

_"Welcome back, Cinder-chan!"_


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Okay, so two things. 1. some very unexpected and unmentioned stuff in this chapter, and 2. Cinder is going to be a target, but I promise that she remains an important character.**

**By the way, here you go. A long chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha!**

OOOOOOOO

She stared at the picture in her hands. The mother let her head hit the table. It was different than if someone just died; her child and her two best friends suddenly went missing. Out of their bedroom. On the same night. It was odd, and nobody could comprehend it. There was no sign of a struggle, and no evidence. At all. So the logical conclusion was that they had run away, and having no where to go, the police put up a watch, but ceased their searching. They had nothing to go off of.

So Jessabelle's mother held in her tears, hearing her other child in the background. She had something else to take care of, and no matter how much she wished to know what happened to her kid, there was nothing more she could possibly do.

OOOOOOOO

Cinder could not see. She was in her cat form, blinded. Literally. A deep gash was across her forehead, and so much blood poured into her eyes that she could not wipe it away. It crusted over her lids, and her ears perked, her lithe cat body hopping around as she swiped. Naraku had once again attacked, but sent more lower level demons. A stronger one had gotten a hit on the inexperienced and untrained Cinder. So now she was at a severe disadvantage.

She danced around, hearing the others' screams.

"InuYasha!" Kagome cried. Cinder could only guess what had happened.

With the shadows in her sight, her other senses were enhanced, but everything was so conflicting that she was extremely uncoordinated. The assault of blood almost made her sick. It was from demons, humans, and of ever imaginable type. The sounds of shrieks and attacks were so loud that she could barely defend herself.

Whatever was happening, she could barely tell.

OOOOOO

Cinder's mother had picked up her phone at the sound of the call. "Hello?"

"Hi!" Jazline's mom said from the other side, her usual mellow voice replaced by one of excitement.

Cinder's mom was a little surprised, but smiled to herself at the other woman's energetic sound. "Hey."

"I was just wondering, would you like to meet me and Sarah at Olive Garden?" Sarah was Jessabelle's mom, one of the girls that disappeared.

Cinder's mother, Rebecca, answered, "Of course. When should I meet you, Sally?"

"Now. I'll see you when you get here." And with that, Sally hung up.

Rebecca grabbed her coat and headed out the door.

OOOOOO

Something was wrong. As Jessabelle purified anything within her range, she watched as Cinder stumbled, even more clumsy than usual. He black fur was sleek, and it shone with an unnatural hue, one Jessabelle immediately recognized as blood. Her breath came in pants, and her tail hung low to the ground.

Then, as if nothing else could go wrong, Jazline, who stood beside her, collapsed, her eyes glowing bright white. "Now! Now is when you have a vision?" Jessabelle cursed herself and her luck.

OOOOOO

Jazline glanced around herself, seeing a lush forest, but even closer was a hot spring. The seer approached it, spotting Midoriko swiftly. "Hey!"

The miko turned, smiling broadly. "Hi, Jazline. It's good to see you again."

"Yeah," Jazline responded. They stood there for a moment before Midoriko sat by the edge of the water, watching the steam.

"So," she started, "have you come to see me for a reason?"

"See you?" Jazline asked. "I wasn't trying to invoke a vision."

Midoriko just shrugged, barely holding in her laughter. "Whatever the reason, you're here now. What is it you seek advice for?"

Jazline looked her over once before saying what was one her mind, "Well, it's my parents."

OOOOOO

Jessabelle stood over Jazline, scrunched up into as tight of a ball as she could manage. She had a weak and small barrier up around them. It was horrible, but it would have to suffice. She couldn't let her friend get attacked while she was in such a state. Who knew what would happen to her?

It was then that she heard the yowl from across the clearing. Jessabelle looked up, only to let out a strangled sob.

OOOOOO

Sesshomaru was fighting. It was one of the things he did best. He was not good with emotions, and even his own confused him, but battle came almost as a sixth sense, so he swung his sword with ease. He was always aware of the others' positions. The slayer was on her cat, hacking away in the sky. Cinder was behind him, Jessabelle and the seer to his right. His half-brother was in front of him, and now he eyed him and his sloppy fighting. Maybe he would give the hanyou lessons...

Another sacred arrow was shot in front of him, and his eyes caught the priestess' for a moment, seeing determination there. Maybe there was a reason InuYasha was so close to the onna...

But all his thoughts were interrupted at the scream. It was one of total and complete agony. It was a terrifying sound, and Sesshomaru hoped for as long as he lived he would never hear it again.

OOOOOO

Jazline now did as Midoriko had instructed. She was going to send her mother a message using her aura!

_Mother. We're okay, but we can't come home. We love you guys._

It was simple, but just those few words had already drained her, and Jazline slumped over, exhausted. She mumbled, "Thank you, Midoriko."

With that, the seer fainted.

OOOOOO

Sally was at dinner, eating and laughing as she talked to the two people she had become closer to ever since...the incident. It was then that she heard the words, and she knew that they were true.

_Mother. We're okay, but we can't come home. We love you guys._

She automatically felt better.

"They love us," she whispered, closing her eyes.

Sarah squeezed her hand, and Rebecca smiled lightly from her side. The first of the women sighed. "Yes, yes they do."

OOOOOO

Cinder felt it, the chest gripping and breath taking pain. She saw her blood stain the grass, heard her scream. It was like a scene by scene movie, each part clear to her, but at the same time, all of it so far away. As she fell over, only one thought was on her mind.

_Sesshomaru..._

OOOOOO

Jessabelle screamed in answer as soon as Cinder hit the ground, the sound almost as bad to hear as the first. It cut off abruptly as she felt Jazline move beneath her.

The girl's purple eye's opened. "I did it. I told them we loved them."

Jessabelle took in the words, but by now she was openly crying, standing and pulling Jazline to her feet. The seer glanced around confusedly before she saw what everyone was now staring at. She gasped in horror.

OOOOOO

It hurt. Sesshomaru didn't understand the sudden pain that came over him as he glanced back and watched as the demon snickered, hovering just above his kill. The lord didn't even know what he was doing as he came up behind the snake and sliced it in half, watching as it fell in two back to the earth. All he could see was his ward, her eyes hazy with death and blood.

Dead.

No, that was not a word that could describe the girl. She was happy, easily depressed, funny, crazy, untrainable, but not dead. He wouldn't let her be dead. So he fell to his knees by he side, and grabbed her in his arms.

He realized it then. This cat youkai was more than just his ward.

OOOOOO

Cinder didn't know where she was, but it was black, and she stood on nothing, but did not fall. Her skin was prickling, almost as if she was being pulled. It was an uncomfortable feeling. She closed her eyes and shuddered. "Hello?"

There was no answer, but she didn't expect one. It was too cold to be real.

OOOOOO

Sango watched with horror as her companion was embraced by the lord, his eyes actually clouded. She could not believe it. For him to be showing any conceivable emotion mean it was serious, but all she could do was fight the demons off and stay strong. So that's what she did.

OOOOOO

Kirara was confused. Her mistress seemed distressed, but Kagome and her own being were fine. That's when she realized the problem must be elsewhere. The lower level cat demon noticed that the youkai more complex than her lay unmoving, and she was worried. The cat was exactly that, a cat, and because of that, Kirara felt close to her. She hoped she would be alright.

OOOOOO

Miroku threw a few sutras, ducking and dodging as he could, leading Rin, Ah-Un, and Jaken out of the clearing. He protected them from anything that flew at them, not allowing them to be injured by the demons of Naraku. It was his job as a monk, and his job as a man who respected Sesshomaru. He wouldn't let any harm come upon the sweet girl who loved flowers, or the dragon with two heads, or even the annoying green imp.

It was his duty.

OOOOOO

"InuYasha!"

The hanyou turned around, his teeth bared in annoyance. "What?"

Kagome only pointed, showing him where Sesshomaru crouched over the body of the cat confusedly. As they watched, the youki dissipated and she reverted back to her mortal form, her eyes hollow and tinted with crimson, her wounds and blood beginning to soak her kimono.

"Oh..." InuYasha just watched as his brother tensed, and was shocked by his kin's reaction. The half-demon closed his eyes for a moment, feeling for his half-brother. But the moment soon passed, and InuYasha turned around to continue to hack at the demon he had been fighting.

Kagome pursed her lips, tears threatening to spill. Still, she turned around and fought beside InuYasha. She trusted Sesshomaru enough to heal his companion.

OOOOOO

Jazline and Jessabelle hugged tightly, both crying heavily. They could only watch as the inuyoukai stared with torn emotions and the girl in his arms. But then it seemed as if he made a decision. The demon stood, then put a hand on his hip. In a flash, he pulled it back, and now in his hand was a sword, one the pair recognized as Tenseiga.

Sesshomaru would always care for what was his.

OOOOOO

Sesshomaru held the sword tightly before bringing it down on the creatures that resided around Cinder's body. In a flash, one of a bright white-lighted aura, Sesshomaru actually let out a prolonged exhale, his equivalent of a gasp. He had never experienced anything like this before, and he wondered what was going on.

Then the light was gone, and Sesshomaru was left staring at the now healed but still bloodied cat demon.

And with a heaving breath of life, Cinder opened her eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Okay, sorry for the line break mishaps. I just can't get them to work. I'm just going to use letters or something, because otherwise it'll get confusing.**

**Disclaimer: No, InuYasha is not owned by me. I also am not profiting from this fanfiction.**

OOOOOO

And screamed.

Sesshomaru actually flinched back in shock at the unexpected sound. Cinder's eyes were wide in wild fear and she began struggling, not stopping her shrieking for a moment. Now the cat demon was spitting out something that sounded like garbled words, a type of gibberish that the dog demon could not understand.

"What's she saying?" Shippo asked.

Jessabelle shook her head. "It's carny, but I can't speak it that fast."

Cinder screamed again, trying to claw her way away from the dog. She shouted something that was clear and precise.

All eyes turned to Jessabelle, and she blushed, translating, "Get away from me, you dog."

Sesshomaru growled and Cinder screamed harder, actually crying. As she sobbed, the group stared at her bewildered, occasionally swinging at any of the low level, amused demons that came too close.

Eventually, Jessabelle realized what happened. "Get away from her Sesshomaru-sama! She's scared of dogs!"

Jazline's eyes widened as well, but she said nothing. Her friend had always had a slight fear when it came to dogs, especially large, persistent ones, but she had never been remotely frightened of Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru hesitated for a moment, but released the girl. Cinder scrambled to her feet and ran, heading to the forest. InuYasha, noticing she was going to get lost in the woods, tackled her to the ground. Her screams started up again, and she tried to scratch at his arms and be released. InuYasha complied, but the neko youkai curled up onto the ground, whimpering.

"Cinder-chan?"

The demon didn't move, not even showing that she had heard her friend.

"Cinder?"

Suddenly, Cinder sprung up, tears leaking down her face as she talked in a language combined from four different ones, and Jessabelle tried her best to understand.

"They were there. They were killing me. It was huge and white with bright red eyes. It's fangs dripped acid as it tore me limb from limb. Then it threw me to a werewolf looking thing, and it turned me to ashes. I woke up in another realm, one I didn't understand. Everything was black, and it floated; it was pulling me apart. And suddenly, I felt myself thrown together and I woke up."

Jessabelle gaped. Here was here bestie, pouring her heart out to her. Cinder had died and was brought back to life, but only after experiencing some of her worst nightmares.

"They fed on my ashes, dogs did. They were disgusting. An ugly gray and dripping with a smelly, black slime."

And then Cinder cried.

Jessabelle had only seen Cinder cry on a few occasions, and certainly nothing like this. Everyone attempted to calm her, InuYasha and Sesshomaru excluded, but her hysteria lasted well past the battle, finally ending as she fell unsteadily asleep in a heap on the dirty ground.

"What is wrong with her?" Sesshomaru asked as soon as her breathing became more steady.

Jessabelle glanced up briefly, but swiftly turned her eyes away, remembering the vision Jazline had told her about. She wondered if it had happened yet...probably not, because Cinder would have mentioned it. "Where we come from, people have dogs as pets."

The look the lord gave her told her to go on, so she did.

"And she was fearful of them, having been attacked multiple times. They scratched up her back and knocked her over, and she was cautious around them, especially the big ones who barked and wouldn't leave her alone."

"What does that have to do with her fit?" Sesshomaru still didn't know what was going on, but was actually relieved to discover more information about the complicated girl.

"Well, she saw something when she died. She said it was a white dog with red eyes. It had fangs that dripped poison and it tore her limb from limb before a man with dog features destroyed her until she was only ashes. Then, they fed her ashes to disgusting dog creatures that dripped goo."

Nobody said anything, but they were all contemplating what they had just been told.

Sesshomaru, though he didn't show it, was completely horrified and thoroughly disgusted. There were only two beings that could be the main dogs in her dream. He and InuYasha. And it made him want to empty the contents of his stomach. He had never in his life felt so strongly before, not even when he was clutching her corpse. He was out of it, he knew, but the thought that she had seen him torturing her until she died was a breaking point. He spun on his heel, leaving the clearing.

OOOOOO

Cinder's dreams were peaceful, and she was calmed by the rumbling sounds. What they were, she couldn't tell. It reminded her of growling, but it wasn't aggressive. It took her back to the time when she and Sesshomaru had teased each other, treating the other like a pet. And she was comforted.

OOOOOO

Jessabelle turned around quickly. Behind her was Koga. InuYasha turned around as well, growling, Kagome watching with a frown. But before them, Koga approached, stopping at Jessabelle's side.

"Thanks."

"What for?" she returned.

"The advice," he replied simply, his eyes wandering over the others in the group, spotting Sesshomaru's wards but not the demon lord himself. "I was wondering if I can travel with you to help defeat Naraku."

"No!" InuYasha snarled.

"Sit."

The hanyou slammed into the ground, still growling.

"Yes." Jessabelle smiled. "I'd like that very much."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha!**

OOOOOO

Cinder was with Rin and Jaken, Sesshomaru not far behind him.

"Yay! Swimming time!" Rin exclaimed, her face lighting up happily.

Cinder did not feel the same. She said nothing, just blinked and continued after her. Sesshomaru noticed, but said nothing.

Soon, they reached the water, but the sounds of camp were still clear.

"Kagome!"

"InuYasha, sit!"

A large crash.

Cinder shook her head. Those two would never learn.

Sesshomaru turned away, his back to them, Jaken doing the same. The neko demon trusted Sesshomaru not to peep, and Jaken wouldn't do anything to anger his lord, so she and Rin were safe from watching eyes.

Rin put her toes in, deeming the water worthy, then stripped. She looked back at Cinder. "Let's play!"

Cinder's teeth curled back over her teeth as she took her kimono off. She had never particularly liked water, only swimming with her friends and usually choosing to stay out of the pool, but now, it was like her reaction to fire. A deep hatred for the slimy cold substance, its clear surface and properties disgusting her. "No, Rin. I'm just going to wash up and get out."

And so Cinder did. She was in the water for maybe five minutes before she hopped out, shaking herself, then throwing her kimono back on. She plopped onto the ground beside Sesshomaru, her face a mask of displeasure. Little did she know he was watching her curiously.

"You don't like the water, cat?" he asked, his stoic mask never leaving.

Cinder bared her teeth and snarled. "What of it, dog?"

He let her blatant disrespect go, for he could not find it in himself to punish the creature.

They both turned away from each other, Jaken narrowing his eyes at the pair. They bickered in an odd way, and he immediately assumed that it was dislike for the girl that caused this.

"Jaken, Cinder," Sesshomaru announced, rolling his eyes along them lazily.

"Yes, milord?" they asked at the same time.

"Go collect firewood to bring back to the camp."

They nodded, getting up and heading off into the woods.

Jaken turned to Cinder, and she caught him staring. "Um, any reason you aren't looking away?"

Jaken shook his head, a small smile adorning his face. "He doesn't want you here."

"W-what?" Cinder was completely bewildered. What did the imp mean by that? He couldn't possibly be telling her what she thought he was.

"Exactly as I said," Jaken stated smugly, seeming to be slightly annoyed. "Sesshomaru doesn't like you, it's obvious."

And Cinder gasped. It couldn't be true could it? But the truth was, that it probably was. Sesshomaru was a daiyoukai, powerful and not needing her to constantly be his shadow. She was nothing more than a speck of dust at his feet, and she almost broke down there.

Did she miss her home? Yes and no. Her actual house and family, not really. A little maybe, but nothing heart wrenching. Sometimes she was reminded them, and a longing entered her heart, but she felt that her life here was what she had been searching for as long as she could remember, a happiness that she didn't used to have.

The luxuries of her old life? Definitely. There were plenty of moments when she wished for an ipod and a TV, maybe some internet, but she had given those things up for this new life, and she was content with that.

The only reason she was truly upset, was because love was love, and love was shared between a family. And they thought she was dead. For people to mourn over her—her family, her friends, her classmates—was a bit much for her to handle, because it was unintended deceit.

Now she didn't even belong here. She was unwanted, and had nowhere left to go, so she ran.

Eventually, so distraught that she couldn't even see straight, Cinder tripped. She felt flat on her stomach and sighed as plant life tickled her face. It was not a rough landing, but it was a shocking one nonetheless.

She curled over against a tree and brought her legs to her chest, her head resting upon them. Tears dripped down her cheeks, leaving trails behind them. The neko couldn't stand to be rejected. She had nowhere else to go, and thought this was her home. Everything had been taken from her, and when she finally was given more than she had lost, it was ripped from her again. Not to mention she was constantly haunted by nightmares and dreams of her death, and waking up with anxiety, even having let out a scream once.

A rustle sounded in the bushes, and it seemed almost purposely made, as if someone wanted to get her attention. Her gray and green eyes flashed up, and standing in front of her was Sesshomaru. Did her come to mock her, to tell her how worthless she was? It had happened to her before, and she could see the truth in Jaken's words.

"Why do you cry?" the demon lord asked.

"This is like last time," Cinder replied. "It is nothing."

"Again with that answer," Sesshomaru grumbled. "You would not be so upset if it was nothing."

It was a statement, yet it demanded she explain. "Why?"

Sesshomaru's eyes filled with confusion. "Why what?" He was now kneeling before her, though she was still shorter...by a considerable amount, too.

"I thought you didn't care," she whispered, staring at the suddenly interesting ground.

Sesshomaru growled. That was the opposite of the truth. She was young, a child, but when he first saw her, his beast had demanded that he take her with him, her own having the same idea. It was foolish, but he wanted to be close to her, to treat her like he did no other. If anything, she was the one who received the most care from him. What ever would make her think the opposite? "I don't know what made you think that, but it is very untrue."

And then, the demon lord did something not even he could understand. He leaned forward, and then his and Cinder's lips met, and it was unlike anything he experienced before. Cinder knew one thing immediately. She was home.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I have wished many times to own InuYasha, but I still don't, and I never will.**

OOOOOO

Cinder woke up, looked over at Jessabelle, and screamed. "Uh, no. No. This is—what the—just, no."

Jessabelle sat up groggily, took one glance at Cinder, and let out a scream as well. Now Jazline was up, a silent fire in her eyes at having been awoken. Then she gasped as she stared at her friends. They looked to her, but the only difference was the hair that hung down to her waist and maybe an older look to her.

Jessabelle and Cinder though...well, they had easily aged three years in seven hours. Both were fuller of figure and about an inch taller. Jessabelle's shoulder length hair was now down to her waist as Jazline's was. Cinder's hair, as most demons had it, was extremely long. It had grown past her butt, and now ended halfway down her thighs.

They kept their eyes on each other before looking at themselves, feeling their hair. The others had woken up as well, and now they eyed them strangely. Kagome was not a morning person, and stared through a hazy image before lying back down, grumbling about how the sun wasn't even up yet. Sango was at the ready, their screams having alerted her, and she acted on her training, Miroku doing much the same by her side. InuYasha had jumped out of the tree, and even though Koga had given up his claim on Kagome, the two still did not get along. They now stood, noses inches apart, growling loudly. Sesshomaru watched them with disdain as Shippo jumped between them, Kirara sitting at InuYasha's feet as she mewled.

The demon lord knew something had definitely happened, but when his attention was drawn to it, he thought about what it must be. Cinder had originally been human, so were her friends without powers at some point as well? If so, he had a theory. "This Sesshomaru is guessing that the human and nonhuman souls and powers are fighting within them, causing them to reach maturity rapidly."

Kagome, now rubbing her eyes, let out blearily, "But why would that make them grow?"

Sesshomaru scowled, saying, "Take Cinder for example. Her human body would grow much faster than her demon one, so with their fighting she reached maturity, and will not grow much more."

Kagome nodded, thinking it made sense, but then annoyed Sesshomaru by asking, "But what about Jazline and Jessabelle? They are still human in a way, so shouldn't they grow normally?"

"That," Sesshomaru continued, "I am uncertain about, but the reasons are still the same."

Cinder felt a hiss escaping her lips. "You make it seem as if going through three years of puberty in one night is completely normal."

"It is," Sesshomaru told her, "if you think about it as I have explained it."

Cinder tried to push herself onto her knees so she could stand, but caught herself on her hair and fell over. "Of course this would happen to me."

The cat youkai then shakily raised herself to her feet, pouting the whole time.

"You should keep it."

Cinder turned to face the inu youkai, pulling on her hair. "Keep it? Is that because you like making fun of me!"

"No," he retorted. "It is because it suits you."

"Oh." Cinder didn't have anything to say in reply, so turned to Jazline instead, only to see her and Jessabelle fuming. The seer practically ran off into the forest, Jessabelle stalking over to Koga where she sat gruffly at his side.

The neko youkai was going to ask Kagome if she'd like to bath with her, but her screams carried across the clearing. "SIT!" That was followed by a bang, and Cinder just sighed. It seemed as if she would be going to the stream alone.

"Well," she announced, "I'm going to the stream. I'll see you guys soon." She then grumbled something under her breath, and Sesshomaru immediately recognized it as being a part of one of her many different languages.

Cinder took her time approaching the stream, preferring to think as she stalked toward it. Lately, it had seemed as if everything was falling apart, and she didn't know what to do. Then there was her relationship with Sesshomaru. Who knew what was going on with that! They only traveled with each other for a short time, and they were already so close. She found herself immediately blaming instinct, and saw that she was partially correct.

Cinder was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost fell into the stream, but stopped herself in the nick of time. She stripped and gave her now extremely dirtied—from falling over her hair—body a look over and sighed. So much could change in what seemed to be no time...or seven hours.

The demon slid into the cool water, letting it wash away the mud as well as what was one of the last few days of summer. She couldn't help wondering what fall would be like for her in feudal Japan. Her elfin ears twitched at the slightest of brushes, and she turned around, her eyes wide. Cinder would have ignored the noise and let the event go if Sesshomaru hadn't stepped out of the bushes. Cinder squeaked, stumbling back and lower in shock. To only make matters worse, the demon lord just stared at her.

"Ummmm..." Yeah, her thoughts were not really coherent.

Sesshomaru held up something that resembled a brush, and she guessed that's exactly what it was. He had come all the way to her to brush her hair? Well, it would be a hard task for her since she was not used to its length, but still...the thought made her blush and she turned around quickly, leaning her back up against the bank.

The demon lord kneeled, pulling the item through her tresses and finding it worth his time at the throaty purr that escaped her.

OOOOOO

Jessabelle sat against a tree, staring with distaste at the brown bark in front of her. Why was anything she had done or given up to be here good enough when she and her friends fought? It wasn't. And it angered her that they had done so, but she tried hard to let it go, finding it start to ease from her.

Then through the trees burst something that Jessabelle immediately recognized as a hanyou, its aura a strange combination of youki and that of a mortal. He had black hair with bright emerald streaks, his eyes matching the green. Scales of the same color were dusted across his skin, clumping more close around his neck and forearms. He had fangs and claws, and overall seemed to be someone you didn't want to mess with. That's why when his slitted eyes met her own, Jessabelle couldn't keep from trembling.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: OML, it's been forever since I last updated. Sorry about that! I also know that it's a bit short. Sorry about that too!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, and I do not profit fro this fanfiction in any monetary way.**

**OOOOO**

Jessabelle pulled on Koga's hand, pouting and then pulling harder. "Come on, Koga."

The wolf demon glanced up at her with exasperation. "What?"

"This is getting kind of crazy," mumbled Jessabelle, continuing to pull. "Just in case you can't tell..."

"SIT! SIT! SIT! I don't want to hear another word about Kikyo, InuYasha!"

A scream resounded through the forest, and everyone turned to it, but in the current chaos, no one got up to help Jazline. Sesshomaru and Cinder were already gone. Maybe they had just spooked her.

"Yeah," Koga responded, "let's get out of here."

Jessabelle smiled and let him grab her. The miko, now huddled in his arms, whispered, "You did a good thing."

"What's that?" Koga asked as he ducked under a tree branch and left the clearing.

"You let InuYasha and Kagome be together. Well, if that idiot can ever see what's right in front of him that is," Jessabelle told him, looking at her hands which were clasped tightly in her lap.

Koga smiled then, answering, "I did it for you too. You're the one who asked me to do it."

Jessabelle glanced up at him in shock, but before she could argue, Koga's lips were upon hers.

"What?" she asked incoherently against his mouth, her hands against his chest.

"Shut up," he protested.

She didn't utter another word.

OOOOOO

Kagome and InuYasha sat side by side, the miko finally having calmed down. "Why do you do that, InuYasha?"

"Do what?" he asked, turning to look at her.

Kagome continued to stare into the sunset, her eyes narrowed at the brightness of it. "Talk about Kikyo."

The hanyou was momentarily stunned, having no idea what to say. Her opened his mouth twice, but each time nothing came out. Finally, he settled for saying, "I'm sorry."

"Hmmm." Kagome did not appreciate the apology, but she accepted it and was glad for it in a way. What she really wanted was a reason. She wanted to know why she couldn't be good enough for the hanyou. Why couldn't she be the one that InuYasha wanted? After a pause, she queried, "Do you love me InuYasha?"

"W-what!" he stuttered, surprised more than he had ever been before.

"Do you love me?" Kagome repeated, this time turning to stare bravely into his eyes.

"Kagome..." InuYasha murmured, leaning closer and embracing her tightly.

That was Kagome's answer.

OOOOOO

Jazline stared as the hanyou padded out of the shadows.

"Wh-what do you want?" She tried to back up, but a tree stopped her.

The half-demon regarded her closely, his snake tongue flashing out of his mouth quickly, and she knew he was tasting the air. "Are you afraid of demons, girl?"

"No," Jazline told him. "I live with five demons and a half-demon. I have no reason to be afraid."

"Then why are you?" asked the snake hanyou, walking closer to her.

"Because I don't know you," Jazline admitted.

The hanyou smirked. "Let me change that."

OOOOOO

Sango and Miroku watched as Shippo and Rin drew pictures together, giggling. Sango smiled, and Miroku did as well, deciding for once that it wasn't the moment to grope the slayer. "Aren't they cute?"

Miroku watched Sango closely, saying in return, "Yes, just like the children we'll have someday."

Sango blushed, moving her eyes to stare at the fire. "Yeah...sure."

"Yes, my precious Sango. You will see," said Miroku, watching as the children continued their fun.

OOOOOO

Cinder chuckled lightly, walking back to the camp, her pointed ears twitching as they caught the sound of the fire crackling. "Come on, Sesshomaru."

"You wish to go back?" he asked, following her as she made her way through the forest.

"Yeah," she replied. "Don't you?"

"Hn. This Sesshomaru was wishing to stay out in the forest."

"Alone?" questioned Cinder incredulously, glancing up at him strangely.

"Yes," the demon lord answered.

Cinder grinned widely. "If you say so."

"I do," Sesshomaru insisted.

Cinder grabbed his hand, dragging him the opposite direction and far away from the camp.

OOOOOO

Naraku watched closely through Kanna's mirror, observing the various groups of shard hunters. "They are coming closer. They will reach us soon now."

Kanna nodded. "Yes, Master, they will."

Naraku scowled. "Let us go plan then."

Kanna bowed lowly. "Yes, Master."

The two padded away, Kagura following behind silently. If only she could plot too...against Naraku...

OOOOOO

A mewl echoed in the small clearing, soul stealers brushing against Kirara's side. The small cat demon huffed, meowing again, this time catching Kikyo's attention.

The undead miko kneeled, petting the little creature. "Why are you here."

The cat purred in reply, having no words to say. Kikyo could only guess that if the group's cat had come to get her, then the final battle was approaching. They needed all the help they could get.

"I'll go with you," Kikyo said, standing once again.

Kirara mewled happily, turning tail and running into the forest. With a sigh, Kikyo followed.

She knew that soon the final battle would soon be upon them, and if they wanted to survive, then they all had to stick together and fight for each other.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Sorry that it's been a long time since I last updated.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaiming stuff…**

**OOOOO**

"Don't come any closer!" Jazline warned, backing up until her she was pressed against a tree and totally cornered.

"Why not?" the hanyou asked, his tongue darting out.

She was about to make a witty response when a bright white light interrupted her vision and she was thrown into her usual vision fog. She turned around to see the pretty forest, Midoriko sitting on a rock.

Jazline approached her. "Midoriko, this really wasn't a good time."

Midoriko giggled. "Nonsense." She then tugged on Jazline's arm. "Come on."

"Seriously though," Jazline said as Midoriko dragged her, "I was about to get attacked."

Midoriko sighed loudly, rolling her eyes. "I know all about your situation, and he wasn't even going to attack you."

"Then what does he want with me?" asked Jazline.

"Can you be patient? I'm trying to show you," Midoriko said, a pout plastered on her face.

Jazline kept quiet and let the priestess lead her to a break in the foliage. "Through here," she whispered.

Jazline followed and was shocked by the scene in front of her. It was the hanyou and her. They were hugging, and one of Naraku's puppets stood behind them. Abruptly, he jumped from her arms and pulled a sword from his side, slashing at the puppet. The puppet blocked and he was thrown to the ground. The fight continued much this same way for a while.

"Is he…is he defending me?" asked Jazline.

"That's certainly what it looks like," answered Midoriko, watching Jazline instead of the vision in front of them.

"I think I understand you," Jazline said all of a sudden.

"I hope you do," Midoriko replied, smiling brightly.

Then, Jazline's vision went black.

OOOOO

Rin picked a flower and held it out to Shippo.

"You're giving me a flower?" Shippo asked, shocked.

Rin nodded, smiling brightly, her small ponytail bouncing.

Shippo took it, smiling brightly just like Rin was. "Thanks, Rin!"

The two hugged, still smiling, the bright orange flower held in between Shippo's fingers.

OOOOO

Kikyo stood right behind Kirara, soul stealers floating overhead. Kirara mewled again as she jumped over a log, looking over at Kikyo hastily.

"I understand, Kirara," Kikyo whispered. "It's very urgent. We must hurry back."

Kirara nodded, taking off again with the priestess and her demon followers right behind her.

OOOOO

Cinder giggled, her hand in Sesshomaru's as he tugged her along. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he answered, picking her up and jumping over a brook. "We'll be there soon."

"Okay," Cinder said, keeping up with him quite easily, their feet hitting the ground at a pace that only a demon could run at.

Sesshomaru led her around another bend, and suddenly they were in the middle of a large field, flowers blooming all around them in rainbow shades.

"Wow," Cinder whispered, completely in awe.

"I know," Sesshomaru said.

Cinder opened her mouth, about to say something else when she was suddenly interrupted by a rustling in the bushes.

OOOOO

Koga sat at the edge of a stream, his feet dangling in the water. "Isn't it nice out here, Jessabelle?"

Jessabelle nodded. The wind picked up, blowing her hair around and right into Koga's face. Both of them laughed. "Sorry. I guess my hair just has a mind of its own."

"Must be," said Koga.

Jessabelle smiled and leaned closer to him, but before anything more could happen, a piercing scream ripped through the air.

OOOOO

InuYasha stood up, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. "Did you hear that, Kagome?"

"Yeah. Where did it come from?" she asked, standing up as well.

"I don't know," the hanyou replied, sniffing the air.

Kagome stepped closer to him, worry painted on her face. "We have to go and see if whoever screamed is alright."

InuYasha met her eyes for just a moment, but then he nodded, obviously agreeing with her. "Let's go."

InuYasha then scooped Kagome onto his back and the two set off."

OOOOO

"It seems like things are getting very chaotic around there," Naraku said.

"Yes," Kanna said from where she stood holding her mirror.

"Yeah," Kagura added, opening and closing her fan with disinterest as she leaned against the wall.

"Then it will be soon, very soon, until I attack them," Naraku announced. "Very soon indeed."


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, but I do own my OCs. I am not making any money from this fanfiction.**

**OOOOO**

"Sorry," Cinder apologized, "you surprised me."

Jazline tugged her snake-hanyou companion with her. "It's fine. This is—"

"We're here!" a voice announced.

Cinder turned around and spotted Kagome and InuYasha, Koga and Jessabelle running in only a moment after them. "Hey, guys. It's fine. Jazline and…that hanyou surprised me."

Everyone turned to look at Jazline and the hanyou. Jazline opened her mouth to explain the hanyou at her side, but she was interrupted by a thud behind her.

Jazline hesitantly turned around, and was thrown back by Kagura. InuYasha reacted quickly, jumping up and catching her.

"Nice catch," Kagura said sarcastically. "I'm not here to talk though." She flicked her wrist forward, and a herd of low level demons came out of the forest.

Kagome notched an arrow and began shooting, started the fight. Everyone else got into position as well, Cinder transforming in mid-air and landing on a spider demon. The demon screeched as she tore it apart.

"The moment we finally all get back together," Jessabelle murmured, making Koga laugh.

Jazline was struggling the most, having no real powers other than her visions and very little training. She dodged like wild, and Jessabelle noticed her struggling. The young priestess jumped over to her, helping her fight.

Jazline suddenly fell over, her eyes going bright white.

"Are you kidding me?" Jessabelle screamed as she caught her friend's limp body. "Do you have a habit of passing out and having visions during battles or something?"

**OOOOO**

Jazline looked around and spotted Midoriko. The usually giggling and silly girl appeared panicked and freaked. "I have to help you!"

"Help me do what?" Jazline asked.

"Something bad is about to happen to your friend, and I don't know if I'll be able to incite a vision in time to help her. You have to try to connect with me as soon as you know," she said hurriedly, the words jumbled and tumbling out of her mouth in her gasps of breath.

"What's going to happen?" Jazline questioned.

"There's no time!" Midoriko shouted, and Jazline was thrown back into the waking world.

**OOOOO**

Jessabelle had her tiny barrier up again and watched as Jazline opened her eyes. "Finally."

"Something bad's going to happen!" Jazline screamed, sitting up.

Jessabelle was taken over by shock, but she swiftly spit out, "What! What is it?"

"I don't know," Jazline replied, "but I know something is. Something's going to happen, and it's going to be horrible."

Jessabelle was about to ask for more details, but a scream echoed around the clearing.

**OOOOO**

There it was again, that scream he never wanted to hear again. Sesshomaru stopped for only a moment, and his opponent noticed. The snake demon opened its mouth and was about to dig its teeth into him, but he killed it just before it could.

If the scream was the one he never wanted to hear again…then that meant….

He turned around so quickly it was as if he had been invisible.

**OOOOO**

Cinder looked down and saw her blood pooling on the ground. Her cat eyes looked forward again with confusion, and her feet fell out from under her. She rolled onto her side, and it was obvious then what had injured her. A gaping hole shown through in her abdomen, a demon of some unknown origin stood above her, cackling slightly.

Cinder took in one last gasping breath and died. Again.

**OOOOO**

"I can't believe that wench got herself killed again," InuYasha said, covering up his pain with an insult like usual.

Sesshomaru sent him a glare and picked up the body. The others were finishing up the last ten demons that stood in the clearing, the weaklings being beaten quickly.

Everyone moved to where InuYasha, Sesshomaru, and Cinder were, watching the three sadly.

Then, without warning, Jazline passed out, her eyes shining white again.

"I swear," Jessabelle said, pointing at Jazline, "this is stress induced or something."

**OOOOO**

One of the demons from the battle had gotten distracted and was now chasing a little girl. The girl stumbled and fell. The demon was about to attack her when a large cat with fire licking at it stood in front of her, growling loudly.

A bright pink arrow shot through the demon, purifying it. "It's alright, Kirara."

Kirara calmed down and trotted over to Kikyo. The priestess strode up to the girl. "My name is Kikyo, and I'm going to help you."

**OOOOO**

"Midoriko, what do I do?" Jazline sobbed. She knew Sesshomaru's sword wouldn't work this time. Cinder was dead. She was really dead! Why did her friend have to be so reckless?

"It's complicated," Midoriko said, "but let me explain."

"Go ahead," Jazline urged.

"You'll need the priestess," Midoriko told her.

"Which one?" Jazline tried to clarify.

"Both of them."

**OOOOO**

Sesshomaru held Cinder, her blood soaking his pure white clothes. His pain was even stronger than when she first died because this time he knew there was nothing her could do. Cinder, his ward and a person he cared deeply for, was gone. Just like that.

He was in pain, and it wasn't an emotion he was used to. He didn't know what to do.

"She's waking up!" Jessabelle announced, everyone turned and watching Jazline except for Sesshomaru.

"I know what to do," the violet-eyed girl breathed.

**OOOOO**

Cinder knew where she was, and she wondered why when you die you realize you're worst nightmare before moving on. Was it because death was frightening like that?

The large white dog from before glared down at her, his white eyes glowing in the darkness. He grinned maliciously then, showing off his pearly white fangs.

She froze then, spotting his dark purple moon marking. She smiled and held her arms open. "Do what you want, because I know that whatever you do, Sesshomaru would never do it. You are _not_ Sesshomaru."

The dog paused, surprised, and then disappeared only to be replaced by a new nightmare. Cinder frowned as she watched it walk toward her.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: The twentieth chapter! Yay! This is such an accomplishment. Thanks to everyone who is reading this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, and I am not making any money from this fanfiction. I do, however, own my OCs.**

**OOOOO**

"Stay away from me," Cinder ordered, taking a step back as the shadow came closer.

Cinder wasn't able to see exactly who or what it was, but she didn't care for she didn't want to know. She wanted out. She wanted to live. But most of all she wanted Sesshomaru.

The shadow chuckled darkly, standing still for a moment. "Do I scare you?" Its voice was animalistic and sounded like a constant growling, but Cinder was still able to recognize it.

"How is it possible," she breathed, panic entering her voice. Where were her companions when she needed them? She wasn't blaming them for anything; she just knew that she needed them.

"Everything is possible in the realm of death," the voice announced, coming closer.

Cinder shivered in fear , watching as her exact copy walked out of the shadows. Her long dirty-blonde was matted with dirt and mud, the liquids getting smeared onto her skin as well. Her usually green and gray eyes glowed a bright scarlet. Her fangs seemed longer and were a pinkish color as were her nails, indicating she had just made a kill. "Do I scare you?"

"You're not me," Cinder screeched, backing up again.

But every step Cinder took back, the Other Cinder took two forward until she stood directly in front of the petrified cat demon. "Poor, Kitty. " She placed her dirty claws on Cinder's face, making the young cat youkai shudder with fear. "Now tell me, do I scare you?"

Cinder contemplated giving her the answer. She was going to be tortured one way or the other, so she figured she might as well tell the truth. "Yes, you scare me, but you're not me. I'm not a monster."

The Other Cinder laughed darkly. "Oh, but when you wake up, and I know you will, you will be the monster you deny."

As Cinder gazed into the Other Cinder's eyes, she knew that the murderous version of herself knew something the real cat demon didn't. "I'm dead. I can't become you."

The Other Cinder purred loudly, dragging her claws down Cinder's cheek, leaving four long red scratches. "Oh but you will, and you're not truly dead. You'll be part of the living again soon. I can taste it on your soul."

Then, without warning, Cinder was thrown back into blackness.

**OOOOO**

"Ki-Kikyo," the little girl stuttered.

"Yes, and I'm a priestess. Are your parents around?" Kikyo asked, apprehension actually lacing her usually monotone voice.

"N-no," she stammered. "My parents are dead."

Kikyo's eyebrows scrunched up, and it was then that she finally realized the eye color of the girl. Orange. Kikyo glanced down. The girl had claws too. "Alright, little hanyou, what's your name?"

The small girl beamed up at Kikyo, little fangs showing. Her shyness was chased away as Kikyo decided to stick around after figuring out what she always tried to hide. "My name is Setsuko, Lady Kikyo."

**OOOOO**

"Do you understand?" Jazline asked Kagome and Jessabelle.

The two priestesses nodded, looks of determination on their faces.

"Alright then, let's try it," Jazline said then mumbled, "let's just hope it works."

Jazline's eyes lit up bright white, but instead of being thrown into s vision, the vision joined her.

Midoriko stood in front of Jazline, her face etched with worry. "I can't stay in this world for long, so we have to hurry and help Cinder."

Jazline nodded. "Okay, Midoriko. Thanks for everything."

Midoriko nodded and closed her eyes. With a pulse echoing throughout her entire body, she became transparent as well as visible to the others. Everyone stood with mouths agape as the fallen warrior marched forward to stand over Cinder's body. "Kagome, come forward."

Kagome stayed where she was for a moment, but then she lost all hesitation and moved to stand in front of one of someone she admired greatly.

"What power you have," Midoriko murmured, staring into Kagome's eyes. "Stay strong and always follow your heart. It's taking you places that even you don't understand yet." She turned to Jessabelle next. "Jessabelle, come forward."

Jessabelle approached her with an expression full of fear for her friend. Midoriko was not surprised. "Jessabelle, you are a new priestess but already a strong warrior. You let nothing keep you down, and I've never seen anyone before who cares so much for her friends."

"Cinder and Jazline are more than that," Jessabelle announced. "They're family, and I hope one day the others will be as well."

"I thought you'd see it like that," Midoriko whispered. "Now both of you need to concentrate on your holy powers. We're going to all call on Cinder's soul and lead it back to her body. Try to center your power into your hands."

Kagome and Jessabelle closed their eyes, and soon enough, their hands started to glow pink. Midoriko only watched for a moment longer before closing her own eyes, her hands glowing pink as well. Soon enough, the whole entire clearing erupted in a pink glow so bright the whole group had to squint and shade their faces.

They opened them to see Jessabelle and Jazline collapsed onto the ground, Midoriko nowhere to be seen.

Cinder sat in the middle of it all. She was back in her mortal body. Her wound was healed, and her clothes were patched together and free from grime. There was a pause where nothing happened. No one moved. No one spoke. Then, Cinder opened her eyes. Everyone watched as her feral red eyes glared at them with an untamed wildness.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, but I do own my OCs. I am not making any money from this fanfiction.**

**OOOOO**

Cinder didn't know what was happening as she pulled her lips back, bearing fangs as she threw herself to her feet. She landed in a perfect crouch and glared at the group in front of her.

"Cinder," Sesshomaru murmured, glancing back at InuYasha as he stood protectively over Jessabelle, Jazline, and Kagome. Not long after Cinder's two best friends had collapsed, Kagome had fallen over in a dead faint as well.

Cinder tilted her head to the side, her red eyes narrowing as she surveyed the area as well as the dog demon. She knew she had no chance of surviving a fight against the youkai. She recognized he was too powerful. It wasn't only that that grabbed her attention though. She was being completely controlled by her inner demon because she was so weak. Every full and half demon had this—half demons succumbed to it much easier—and when they were extremely weakened, they reverted back to this primal state.

"Cinder," Sesshomaru repeated. His eyes were blank, and his expression stayed emotionless. Inside though he was facing turmoil. Cinder was overtaken by her inner demon, and he didn't know what to do to get her calm enough so that he could approach her, knock her out, and let her rest enough so that she could return to her usual form.

Cinder still didn't respond. Her ears moved forward in curiosity, twitching slightly as she waited to see if the dog demon had anything else to say. Why was he talking to her anyway? Her mortal side had loved this demon in a way, and her inner demon had to admit that his power was wooing her, but why would he be interested in quite the pathetic creature that they—her mortal and demon form—were.

"Cinder, calm down and come here," Sesshomaru said. His voice insisted it was an order though, and it implied that if the cat demon didn't obey there would be dire consequences.

Cinder didn't wait long to stride up to the dog demon, standing directly in front of him. Power seemed to radiate off him in waves. Is this what originally attracted her mortal form? The power that tasted like honey on her tongue. She could feel it sinking into her, energizing her. It was a force that made her want more of his overwhelming power. She wanted to stay around him and let it float around her and tickle her skin. It was a power all of its own. It was Sesshomaru's.

"Calm down," he repeated, growling slightly. He was frustrated because she hadn't returned to her mortal form yet, and in this form she was dangerous. Her demon was completely in control, and no one really knew what could happen if it took action.

Cinder stayed silent. She didn't even move for this powerful being in front of her. Safety was still at hand, and no matter how much she wanted to be around his power, her instincts were screaming that he was a danger, so she trusted herself to remain cautious and on edge just in case. She was waiting. What exactly did her want from her?

"KEH." InuYasha marched forward, his sword swinging minutely against his hip. "We don't have time to wait for this. We have to go after Naraku. Get yourself together, Cinder!" He was being his usual impatient self, and surprising even Sesshomaru he reached and grabbed the cat demon's shoulders.

In an instant she raked her claws against his face, hissing savagely. Migurushii, Jessabelle's ugly demon companion, reacted wildly. He automatically assumed his masters were being attacked and threw himself at the cat demon in their defense. They exchanged claws and fangs with severe growls, trying to warn the other off.

Migurushii squared his shoulders, springing at Cinder with his snout wide open, his large fangs aimed in her direction. Cinder, not moving, lifted her claws. It was only when the breath of the beast reached her face that she flicked her talons, the ends catching the low level demon in the throat and holding it in the air. It whined and choked as it struggled to breathe. She hadn't killed the creature, but it was definitely wounded.

Sesshomaru hurriedly appeared in front of the creature as it dropped to the ground, his gold eyes boring into Cinder's bright red ones. "Cinder, stop. Look at what you've done."

And she did. She gazed at the field they were standing in. Other than the blood and other battle monstrosities from the fight against Naraku there was a field cluttered with the worried crew, tattered grass, the injured Migurushii, and a decent amount of blood. It was as if there had been a whole different battle raged as well, and to Cinder—her inner demon and her mortal mind which fought to surface—there had been. It had been destructive. No, she had been destructive.

"Cinder, come here," Sesshomaru whispered. He did nothing really. His expression remained impassive, and his body remained immobile, but his eyes burned with an emotion that Cinder's inner demon wasn't used to. She was confused, and she was easily coaxed into approaching him, her steps silent as she once again stood before the impressive youkai. Once again she was amazed at his power, but this time the thoughts of what she had caused him and also her confusion let her become not only excited to feel it, but also extremely fearful. His aura was large, and now it not only radiated within her but smothered her as well. All he had to do was twitch his claws to kill her. She was easy prey.

Then, Cinder's mortal mind broke through completely, and Cinder collapsed. She was caught immediately by Sesshomaru's arms, and she blinked, her red eyes turning back to their usual green and grey.

Cinder had successful beat death for the second time, but now everyone knew that there was more to a person than meets the eye. Some people are hiding a murderer, and nobody is given a third chance at life.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Wow…it's been a long time since my last update. Sorry about that. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. No money is being made here. :/**

**OOOOO**

But Cinder had, and it certainly came with consequences.

"Where are you going to run?"

Cinder took a step back, putting her hand out in front of her. "Why are you doing this? You don't have a reason! Leave me alone!"

The girl in front of her growled, her fangs shining as she closed the space between the cat demon and herself. "Of course I do…"

"And what's that?" Cinder breathed, her eye going wide in panic as she tried to find a way to escape.

"You spirit," the demon growled. "It's blocking me out."

She threw her hissing form at Cinder. The cat demon screamed, holding her hands in front of her face, trying to block her evil copy's blows.

Cinder's opposite smiled cruelly. Her skin and hair were plastered in blood, her teeth seeming to be almost permanently stained pink. Her kimono hung in rags, revealing small gashes, proving that her prey had attempted to save themselves only to be brought to a painful end. "And I'm going to get in." Red eyes bore into Cinder as the demon lifted her claws, raking them across Cinder's entire body.

Cinder was thrown into consciousness, covering her mouth to keep from screaming. She glanced around at the sleeping forms of her comrades, and hesitantly she laid back down, hoping she could get at least a few dreamless hours of sleep.

**OOOOO**

"My name's Tokage," the reptile hanyou said, his tongue flicking out of his mouth.

"Keh," InuYasha spit, still not quite accepting of the fact that they were inviting another person into their already large group. Secretly though he was just grateful that he had another hanyou around.

"Welcome, Tokage," Kagome greeted cheerily, bowing slightly. She always was one to step forward and be happy when no one else was willing.

The hanyou nodded awkwardly. He didn't really seem used to the group yet, but as soon as they had mentioned they were going after Naraku, he had announced that he would join them. All of them were wondering the same exact thing. What did he have against Naraku?

"Let's get going then," InuYasha said impatiently. "We aren't gonna catch Naraku by standing here.

Kagome rolled her eyes, starting to walk down the path. "If you say so, InuYasha."

"Keh."

Cinder giggled slightly, following InuYasha and Kagome with Jessabelle and Jazline next to her.

"What's his problem?" Jessabelle whispered incredulously.

Jazline shrugged. "Maybe he's hungry. Dog's get grumpy when they're hungry, don't they?"

Jessabelle pushed her slightly, laughing. "He's a hanyou, not a dog!"

"Yeah," Cinder added, "and he can probably hear you."

Jessabelle and Jazline blushed as InuYasha's ears swiveled back forward. He had indeed been listening to them.

"Ugh, stupid super hearing," Jazline complained. "All I do is pass out and have people visit me in my head. I'm pretty sure I'm just crazy."

Jessabelle chuckled and shook her head. "I like life a little better now, you know? I mean, I miss things from before, but now I just feel like I belong."

"Yeah, I feel the same," Jazline announced. "What about you, Cinder?"

Well, Cinder didn't feel comfortable saying that she didn't appreciate a violent version of herself plaguing her subconscious, and she also felt it would sound pretty bad if she said that out loud, so instead she agreed, "Yeah. Me too."

Silence surrounded the large group…well, at least until Shippo ignited the juvenile rage that only InuYasha was capable of.

"Get over here, runt!" he screamed, chasing the small kit around in circles.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried, narrowly missing InuYasha's fist as he tried to clobber the smaller demon.

Everyone knew what was coming, and they were not surprised in the least as Kagome threw her fists down, an angry look coming over her as she yelled, "SIT! SIT! SIT!"

InuYasha slammed into the ground, creating a very loud thud as he did so. Shippo giggled quietly and hopped away and behind Kagome, staring at the hanyou from what he considered safety. InuYasha lifted his head, scowling. "What was that for?"

"InuYasha!" Kagome scolded, not even saying anything else. Her point had already been proven. InuYasha narrowed his eyes at her tone, getting to his feet and grumbling under his breath.

"Why have we stopped?" Sesshomaru asked. Only the slightest bit of annoyance showed through his emotionless mask, and it was then that everyone realized that the lord was being more patient than he usually was and they were just pushing it. They were all lucky he hadn't killed them and moved on already.

"Sorry," Kagome apologized, "InuYasha's just immature."

"Hey!" InuYasha protested, glaring at the priestess.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Can't say I don't agree with her."

InuYasha huffed and crossed his arms. "Can we just go now?"

Kagome nodded and started walking down the path again. Sesshomaru and InuYasha followed right after her, everyone else not far behind.

With a sigh, Jessabelle led her friends to catch up with the group. Koga waited for them, tugging on Jessabelle's hand and whispering something in her ear. She nodded, beaming at him. Koga let Jazline and Cinder walk ahead, successfully placing the other two at the very back.

Cinder laughed and shook her head. "Lovebirds."

Jazline rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "Don't tell me you don't have anything going on."

Cinder blushed and mumbled, "Whatever."

Jazline chuckled at her friend, but then kept silent, finding the quietness of the group peaceful. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

Soul stealers began to surround Kagome, and she glanced at them in confusion as they brushed against her and emitted high pitched cries. They were soon joined by their miko. "Kagome!"

Kagome turned, meeting Kikyo's eyes. "Uh, Kikyo?"

"Kagome," Kikyo said before Kagome could ask anything else, "I need your help."


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: WHOA! It has been forever since I last updated! …no comment on that….**

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, and I am not making any money from this.**

**OOOOO**

InuYasha, always the impetuous one, stepped forward, not allowing Kagome to respond. "And what would that be, Kikyo?"

Kikyo seemed slightly aggravated at the brash interruption, but InuYasha had proven to be a person she could not stay angry with, even when she was filled with the resentment of the dead. "This." Kikyo stepped to the side, the small hanyou behind her now bared for their view. She smiled up at them with her tiny, razor-sharp fangs, her orange eyes sparkling in a wary greeting.

Sesshomaru recognized her immediately, and he growled deeply in disgust. The others, however, did not understand his reaction and looked to him in confusion. "Setsuko," Sesshomaru announced lowly after no one caught onto the child's identity, his obvious disrespect evident in his voice, "the illegitimate child of the Lord of the East."

Kagome, surprised like her friends but unable to ignore the tacit call of a clearly distressed child, stepped forward and held out her hand. "You're safe with us, Setsuko. Where are your parents?"

Her spirit paled immediately as did her face, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "My parents are dead."

"The Lord of the East is dead?" Sesshomaru asked, his monotone voice not betraying his disbelief.

The girl nodded. "They came for me and my mother. He died fighting for us." She brought her clawed hand to her face as the tears escaped.

Kagome kneeled and embraced the child, muttering soothingly. The girl accepted it, but the gentle touch of the miko was not enough to calm her, and she continued to sob despairingly.

"What are we to do with her?" Miroku asked Kikyo. Even he, the wisest of the group, was unable to decipher the plans of the elder priestess.

Kikyo glanced at him blankly with her cold, dead eyes. "You are to train her of course. Take her with you. Protect her. The Lord of the East will have the first son rule after his death, but it is likely that is he finds his half-sister, she will not be spared."

Sesshomaru snarled, his poisonous saliva glinting off his teeth dangerously as he glared at the dead priestess. "You expect us to take care of the stupid hanyou child of that fool?"

Kagome, surprised at his cruel outburst—though deep inside her she knew that Sesshomaru knew no bounds with his brutality and as such should have expected a similar statement—stood up harshly, her fury evident. "We can't just abandon this poor kid!"

"We should though," Sesshomaru told her harshly.

Setsuko shivered in terror, grasping at Kagome's skirt in her effort to hide from the powerful inu. Sesshomaru, however, didn't even bother to look at the small girl as she cowered before him. He turned away, ignoring the group as he approached the tree line.

"Sesshomaru!" Cinder called after him.

But he didn't stop, not even for her.

Cinder watched in brokenness as he walked away from them, walked away from her. Her emotions ran deep through her, and the lonely betrayal she felt froze her veins and made her pause in her sprint. Suddenly, a pulse ran through her, and she became a stiff statue.

"Cinder?" Jessabelle called from where she had joined Kagome, comforting the child and trying to stop the hanyou's cries. "Are you alright?"

"More than alright," Cinder spoke, her voice beastly in quality.

"Keh!" InuYasha scoffed. "What's wrong with you, cat?"

Cinder bristled but didn't move. She tilted her head to the side slightly. "There's nothing wrong with me, hanyou. It's you that has the problem."

InuYasha, knowing something was up but unsure of what it was, grabbed his sword and stepped in front of the others. "Keh! Shut up! I could beat you any day!"

Cinder purred loudly, a smirk gracing her lips. "I accept that challenge."

She leapt from the ground, her claws in front of her as she aimed for the hanyou. InuYasha had expected her attack, and he braced himself with Tetsusaiga, his gold eyes meeting her blood red ones.

Cinder growled as she hit the side of the blade, being thrown into the air from the impact. She immediately flipped backwards, landing on her feet and skidding backwards. "Nice try, dog, but it's going to take more than that to deflect me."

"Keh!" InuYasha said, lifting his sword over his shoulder. "You're nothing but a weakling."

Cinder's scarlet eyes burned brightly in her fury. "I can assure you that I am not, but if it takes a painful example to prove it, then so be it." She lifted her claws again, swinging them across her body and releasing her demonic energy in an attack she had never used before.

InuYasha, shocked at her newfound power, bounded quickly out of the way. He brought his sword down in front of him. "Wind scar!"

Kagome, unable to believe that InuYasha would use such a powerful move, screamed, "What are you doing, trying to kill her?!"

"Quiet, wench," InuYasha spit over his shoulder as the energy from his blade raced toward Cinder.

Cinder, however, was not worried in the least. While her mortal form was untrained, her inner demon knew exactly how to control its power. She flared her aura in front of her, creating a wall that the Wind Scar licked up against. The demonic attack soon died out, leaving Cinder with a bright green flare wave surrounding her, her eyes staring soullessly at InuYasha.

InuYasha was stunned, but he wouldn't let this cat have the best of him. He smirked. "If you think you can do better, then come at me, cat."

Jessabelle, despite the seriousness of the situation, giggled lightly. _I didn't know InuYasha had heard that 'come at me, bro' thing from the future._

Jazline narrowed her eyes and went to hit her friend over the head, but before she could, her eyes glowed bright white and she collapsed to the ground.

Jessabelle caught her and then stared around in disbelief. "Is no one else seeing this? I swear that she purposely passes out at the worst possible moment or something!" Her comment was ignored, and with a huff, the priestess gathered her friend in her arms and dragged her away from the battle.

Kagome stood protectively in front of the hanyou child, and everyone else just watched in shock as InuYasha continued to fight the cat demon, knowing that their help would be refused if they tried to offer it.

Cinder's red eyes seemed to glow slightly as she brought the flare wave out from her, booming it towards InuYasha in a large blast. He held his sword in front of him, parting the flare easily. "Is that all you've got?"

Cinder smirked, winking. "No, half-breed. Not in the slightest." Just as she leapt at InuYasha, the high and mighty inu-lord finally decided to return, watching the scene in surprise and wariness. Cinder's inner demon had returned again? How could that be?

InuYasha held up his blade again, and Cinder pushed against the flat surface with her finger tips, flipping herself over InuYasha's head and landing behind him. That was when she caught sight of Sesshomaru, and she stared at him fearfully, once again tasting the honey of his exciting power. She took a step backwards, and then, seemingly unprovoked, she fled into the forest.

Sesshomaru stared after her, uncomprehending.

"Keh, figures that that coward would leave," InuYasha huffed, stabbing his sword into the earth.

Kagome glared at him, knowing how serious these circumstances might turn out to be. "Sit."

The hanyou slammed into the ground, glaring angrily at the priestess as soon as he was able to lift his face from the dirt.

Before he was able to scream his protests, Setsuko stepped forward, her small innocent face filled with intelligent knowing. "That girl is filled with the Angels of Death."

"Angels of Death?" Miroku asked curiously. "How could that be if she is alive?"

"I am a bird hanyou," Setsuko told them, "and even though I am only a half-demon, I still know the major studies of my people. One of them is the angels of heaven and hell alike. She is filled with the evil ones."

"How?" Sesshomaru asked, back to one word questions.

"From dying of course," Setsuko answered. "Now you must pray to give her the strength so that her soul may be saved."

Sesshomaru decided he would set aside his hatred of hanyous just this one time. Just for his little cat demon. "Then teach me."

Setsuko smiled slightly, bowing at his feet. "It shall be done."


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Same as last chappie.**

**OOOOO**

"Midoriko?" Jazline called the usual haze cleared. She glanced around curiously, surveying her surroundings. The typical forest and naïve miko that came with it were not present. Instead, Jazline was in an empty village. It seemed to be a completely desolate place, but Jazline knew that it was more than that when the screams of battle met her ears.

The seer breathed in deeply as she began to approach the harsh shrills of demons fighting, but even that action failed to give her any resolve.

As she got closer, the vision became clearer, and the ghost village disappeared from behind her, the image wavering until the path she had walked was a black nothingness. Jazline, perturbed at how parts of her vision were failing to stay real, continued closer to the fight. Finally, she pushed back the last brush and huts blocking her way, the scene completely disappearing the moment she stepped past it.

What met her was not a battle, and as the path she had walked evaporated, so did the screams of the demons.

In front of her stood six beings. The first she recognized as the Lord of the East by his bright orange eyes. The second was an inu, one she suspected to be Inu no Taisho. The third was Midoriko herself, her naivety still existent even underneath her serious and solemn expression. The fourth was Kikyo, but Jazline knew this wasn't the Kikyo that resided in the land of the living. This version of Kikyo was the original pureness of the priestess' soul, not some corpse-like being filled with utter hatred. The fifth figure was a woman who stood close to Inu no Taisho, so Jazline assumed that it was Izayoi. The last was an elderly man clothed as a demon slayer. She didn't know him, but she suspected he was part of Sango's village.

Midoriko stepped forward, smiling brightly just like Jazline had known she would. "Jazline! It's great that you're here. Most of this vision isn't holding up so well." She glimpsed around at the surrounding darkness. "It should hold though as long as we're all here."

Jazline looked back uncertainly, trusting Midoriko's words but still nervous about the wavering background. "What's wrong?"

"Why do you assume that something is wrong?"

Jazline rolled her eyes at the miko's antics. "You gathered a group of dead spirits to me, and yet you pretend that nothing is the matter?"

Midoriko laughed lightly, shaking her head. "I knew you'd see right past my façade. You know that the war with Naraku is becoming harder to fight, and so I have gathered these souls here so that you may be further protected. This is Setsun, the diseased Lord of the East; Inu no Taisho, the diseased Lord of the West; Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother; Kikyo, guardian of the Shikon no Tama; and Shako, a demon slayer and Sango's grandfather."

Jazline nodded in greeting, but she didn't understand the purpose of the gathering. "Why have you brought them to me though? Not like I'm ungrateful or anything. I'm just curious."

"To give you gifts so that you can further be involved in this fight," Midoriko explained.

Jazline narrowed her eyes at that, a brief sweep of anger coursing through her. "I'm not useless, you know."

Midoriko sighed and crossed her arms. "Don't take this the wrong way, Jazline, but grow up."

Jazline, knowing she was right, shook her head to clear her mind. "Sorry, I know you're trying to help me. I was just…being a brat."

Midoriko giggled and stepped closer. "I'm going to give you the gift of spirit. You can never find yourself down with me beside you." She smiled broadly, lifting her hand. A glow quickly erupted, turning the appendage bright pink as it was offered to Jazline. The seer, though hesitant, took the miko's hand. A pulse ran through her body, the priestess' energy looking for something to purify. When it found none, it settled inside Jazline's veins.

Midoriko dropped her arm back to her side. "How do you feel?"

Jazline laughed, lifting her arms to the heavens. "I feel great!"

"That's miko energy for you," Midoriko informed her amusedly, walking to stand behind the other dead heroes.

Inu no Taisho brushed passed Midoriko as he made his way over to the seer. "Jazline, you have been brave so far, but it will be difficult to face Naraku with the same courage as your other enemies. So I'm going to give you the gift of strength." From his sash, he pulled a small dagger. "This dagger will allow you to concentrate your seer energy. This will be aided by the purification Midoriko has bestowed upon you." Jazline lifted the dagger from Inu no Taisho's palm, inspecting it closely. Other than the red jewel set in the rim, it looked like any other weapon.

"Thank you," Jazline said. "I've never felt powerful before this."

The next one to approach her was Kikyo. Kikyo, though pure once more, was nothing like Midoriko. She held an aura of smooth calmness, so serious that it almost made Jazline nervous. "I am gifting you with faith." From her priestess garbs, Kikyo pulled out a glowing, spiritual necklace. As she set it upon Jazline's neck, it burned pink brightly before settling down to a dull clear color. "Never give up hope." Jazline nodded her thanks.

Setsun then took his turn. He immediately lifted a sword from his sash and threw it at her.

Jazline fought to dodge, narrowly missing the deadly blade. "Hey! What was that for!?"

Setsun bent down to pick up his sword, answering, "I am going to give you the gift of…expecting the unexpected. I guess that's what you would call it."

"You couldn't have done that without almost killing me?" Jazline grumbled, standing up and making her way over to the powerful demon.

"It was for dramatic effect," Setsun replied, lifting his sword onto his shoulder in a very Inuyasha-like fashion.

"I officially hate dramatic effect then," Jazline snapped, glaring at him.

Setsun just sighed, lifting a shiny silver bracelet. "This bracelet will warn you when a danger is coming and help you to avoid it."

"How is it going to do that?" Jazline asked.

Setsun smirked knowingly. "Wait and see."

"You are something, you know that?" Jazline growled, clenching her fists.

Setsun just shrugged, marching over to the others arrogantly. Jazline was surprised to find that he wasn't indeed the third Taisho brother. He acted just like them!

Izayoi hesitantly strode to where Jazline stood, a letter clutched lightly in her hands. "I give you the gift of love. Open this letter when the time is right."

"How will I know when that is?" Jazline wondered, taking the letter into her own hands.

Izayoi gave her a small smile, her eyes betraying her sadness. "You will know."

Shako threw a box at Jazline. She caught it easily, opening it to see another letter. She pulled it out, raising her eyebrow in question.

"Ask the paper any question about demons, and it should answer. That's my gift to you, knowledge," Shako replied to her unasked query.

"Thank you, Shako. Thank you, all of you," Jazline murmured gratefully, clutching the items to her closely.

"We want Naraku dead," Midoriko said, "and we know that you'll help to defeat him."

"I will," Jazline promised, her head held high. "That hanyou won't get away with what he's done.

The moment she finished speaking, the vision was engulfed by darkness, all of the souls disappearing with it.

OOOOO

"Jazline?" Jessabelle asked as her friend woke, gentle petting the still injured Migurushii.

"Hey," Jazline mumbled, her mind still disordered.

"Are you alright?" Tokage asked from her other side.

Jazline's eyes shot open then, looking to her left. _Oh great, _she thought, _he better not be attracted to me. _"Just fine."

He smiled in response, looking her up and down. "I'm glad to hear it."

Jazline smirked and wiggled her eyebrows at Jessabelle. **"He totally wants this."**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**OOOOO**

Jazline stood up, the dagger she had been gifted with poking her slightly from inside her robes. She chose not to say anything about it yet, and instead glanced around in confusion, not seeing Sesshomaru, Setsuko, or Cinder. "Hey, Jessabelle, where is everyone?"

"Uh…funny story…" Jessabelle mumbled, trying to avoid the conversation. "What was your vision about?"

"Same stuff Midoriko always tell me," Jazline lied, deciding to explain her vision later when the entire group was present. "Now tell me where everyone is."

Jessabelle sighed. "Cinder ran off, and Sesshomaru and Setsuko left in search of her."

"But Sesshomaru hates hanyous!" Jazline exclaimed, worried for the girl. Then she also remembered that Sesshomaru was _supposed_ to hate humans as well. Maybe she didn't need to be so worried after all.

Jessabelle shrugged. "She'll be okay. I think they have some agreement going or something."

Jazline decided to not even ask. There was always something going on in their little group. "Anyway, where's Koga?"

Jessabelle clenched her fist in anger. "Ask that prick yourself." She then proceeded to petulantly stomp away.

Jazline sighed and stood up. "Same as always, I see." She shook her head and glanced at the clearing they were in. It was then that she noticed InuYasha, Kagome, and Kikyo were also missing. "…stupid drama…"

"Jazline?"

Jazline turned around. "You have got to be kidding me…right?"

Tokage smiled smugly. "What's your problem?"

Jazline sighed loudly, trudging over to the hanyou. _What is my problem?_

OOOOO

"Cinder is so stupid sometimes. She just makes me want to cry."

"Hey that's not nice!"

"London, you have to admit that she looks like an idiot when she freaks out and runs in circles."

"Yeah, but Keisatsu didn't have to say that. She has gone missing, you know."

"I would also like to add that Jessabelle kind of squints like an idiot."

London glared at her friend. "That doesn't even make sense."

Oishī looked at her friend sideways, her chin in her hand. "London, she'll come back."

"Yeah," Keisatsu added, "this isn't the first time those three have gotten themselves into trouble."

"Guys, they're really missing!" London said. She looked back at her other friends. "Yukidaruma, Bonita, don't you think so?"

Yukidaruma looked unsure. "Uh…."

Bonita just crossed her arms, pouting the entire time.

London glared at them. "You are no help." She turned back to Keisatsu. "Do you even hear yourself?"

Keisatsu looked up from the popcorn she was shoving down her throat. "What?"

London's eyes narrowed even further. "Guess not."

"Don't be a brat, London," Bonita huffed.

"I AM NOT A BRAT!" London screeched, standing up in anger. "SHUT UP, BONNIE! OUR FRIENDS ARE IN DANGER!"

"Calm down," Oishī said, standing as well. She held her right arm between the two furious teens. "Those three get into trouble constantly. I'm sure they'll be just fine."

London didn't seem to be calmed in the slightest, but she collapsed into her chair with a sigh.

"Anyway," Keisatsu said, "as I was mentioning when saying how Cinder is stupid, I hacked her computer."

"So?" Bonnie asked. "What's that gonna do?"

Keisatsu spun in her chair, now facing her friends instead of the laptop. "This computer has all of her personal information on it. If we want to figure out where Cinder and the others got dragged to, this is likely to be the key."

London stared at the girl, her eyes wide. "That's so…"

"Smart?" Keisatsu smirked. "Yeah, I know."

OOOOO

"Hey, Sarah!"

Sarah turned as her name was called, automatically recognizing Sally's voice. "Hi. Any news yet?"

"No," Sally sighed, Rebecca trailing close behind her as she approached their friend. "There's still no sign of them."

Rebecca laughed lightly, trying to lighten the mood. "I heard that the other girls are attempting their own rescue mission."

Sarah smiled wickedly. "I heard that as well." She shrugged then. "If the authorities can't find anything, then maybe those girls can."

Sally didn't seem to think so, but she smiled anyway, nodding. "If anyone could, it'd be them."

OOOOO

"She is fast," Setsuko said. They had been trailing through the woods for hours, and the pair still hadn't crossed paths with the cat demon.

"Hn," Sesshomaru murmured, ignoring the statement for the most part. The demon lord knew his own ward well. She was an inexperienced fighter, and he knew she was very foolish. Sesshomaru was surprised that her inner demon operated so well.

Setsuko glanced up at the inu youkai, frowning when she realized he didn't plan on answering her. She decided to try again. "How far do you think she could have gone?"

Sesshomaru turned his eyes to the girl, his expression staying the same. "This Sesshomaru finds it best to find a faster mode of transportation."

Setsuko smirked. "You think so?"

Sesshomaru narrowly refrained from growling at the hanyou. Who was she to question him?! "This one plans on flying. How will you travel, girl?"

"Sesshomaru-sama," Setsuko said, still grinning, "I think you forget that I am a bird hanyou." She extended a pair of brown and tawny wings. "I am perfectly capable of flying."

Sesshomaru stared for a moment, but he soon lost interest. "Very well. We will go now then."

Setsuko nodded, following after him as he leapt into the sky.

OOOOO

Jessabelle sighed, stopping on the opposite side of the clearing. She glanced back at her friends half-heartedly. Her fight with Koga was heavy on her mind. So many people were missing from their camp as well. Tokage and Jazline were close by, but they had left the clearing to have a short and private conversation. Jessabelle couldn't wait to hear about that one. The only ones who remained in the clearing were herself, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara. Shippo and Kirara were already sleeping, and the priestess didn't want to intrude upon Miroku and Sango. Their conversation could also be private. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, contemplating where to sit.

Because she was distracted, Jessabelle did not notice the demon creeping up behind her until it was too late.

The large insect-like demon thrust its tentacle through her midsection. Jessabelle glanced down for a moment, shock the only thing visible on her face. Unable to understand, she looked up, seeing menacing yellow eyes glaring back at her. For a split second, she thought it was Sesshomaru, understanding Cinder's once-time fear of him. That soon passed as she realized it was just a bug demon.

The demon pulled its tentacle from her body, and the priestess collapsed to the ground, her eyes blurring immediately.

"JESSABELLE!?"

The girl could hear her name among other things, the screeches of battle being the most prominent. She now knew that she had been the receiver of a fatal wound, and she clutched her gut as the pain finally reached her. Jessabelle reached her fingers out tentatively, touching the red blood that was pouring onto the ground. As soon as she had proven her situation was real, the fog that had evaded her mind began to wear off. Unable to keep conscious, Jessabelle fell over, death smothering her quickly.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha…unfortunately, and no money is being made here. :/**

Jessabelle opened her eyes to see her room as it usually was. Confused, she stood and made her way to her mirror. Her hair wasn't ridiculously long, and she wasn't wearing priestess garbs. It was like nothing had changed. "It…must have been a dream."

With a disoriented frown, Jessabelle opened her door and walked into the hallway. She peaked around the corner, proving to herself that everything was the same. She continued her way down the hall, following the loud chatter of her sister and friends. "Guys?"

No one responded. With a sigh, Jessabelle began to make her way down the stairs. She stopped on the sixth step when a familiar voice came closer. "Bonnie, what's going on?"

"I'm going, London! Geez!" Bonnie screeched, not stopping in her climb of the stairs.

"Bonnie," Jessabelle repeated, afraid the girl would run into her. "Bonita!"

Then, to Jessabelle's complete and utter shock, Bonnie passed straight through her.

The older girl froze, her breathing quickening in horror. "What's going on?!"

Without further hesitation, Jessabelle bolted down the stairs, nearly falling on her face in her haste. She found London and Oishī standing there, looking right past her. She grabbed her sister, shaking her back and forth. Well, she meant to shake London, but her hands went right through her instead.

Jessabelle let out a scream, waving her arms wildly to try and catch the girls' attention. "London!? Oishī!?"

She soon gave up when neither girl noticed her. ""Oh…no. No, this cannot be happening." She slowly sat down, her head resting in her hands. She wanted to cry in fear and frustration, but she knew that would do no good.

With no one able to touch her yet, she was surprised to feel a hand on her shoulder. Turning, Jessabelle found herself face-to-face with the white-eyed Jazline. Behind her stood two Cinders in demon form and a sullen Midoriko. The elder priestess stepped forward. "I can explain."

OOOOO

"Catching her and saving her are two very different things," Setsuko announced.

"Hn."

Setsuko sighed. Even mentioning Cinder couldn't spark conversation with the stoic demon lord. There would definitely need to be communication between them to successfully rescue Cinder…if only she could get Sesshomaru to understand that.

She was about to attempt conversation once again when Sesshomaru halted suddenly. Unable to hover, Setsuko flew around him in a circle. "What is it?"

The demon swooped down to the ground, effectively ignoring her. Holding back a hiss of irritation, Setsuko followed. Sesshomaru quickly landed in front of Cinder, Setsuko strategically placing herself behind the neko youkai.

Cinder glanced between the two demons fearfully, quickly realizing her chances of escape were slim. The hanyou did not intimidate her, but Sesshomaru did. For a moment, Cinder's inner demon thought the lord's power would paralyze her.

"Cinder," Sesshomaru said simply.

There was no emotion in his voice, but Cinder felt that it had the same effect as a scold. If he was addressing her, then it was unlikely her would allow her to slip past him and into the surrounding forest. No, she was stuck.

She glanced between Sesshomaru and the hanyou once more, anxiety and fear causing her to freeze up. She was timid now, very unlike her encounter with InuYasha. "Yes?"

Sesshomaru watched his ward carefully, knowing that she was on edge and ready to bolt. He was surprised that her inner demon spoke at all, but his face did not show it; he was too controlled for such actions. "You will come with us, cat."

Cinder hissed, her mind filling with panic. Go with them? They would surely kill her! No being as powerful as the youkai lord could stand to be around her. She knew she was greatly inferior to him.

Sesshomaru stepped forward, his face remaining impassive even as frustration flitted through him. "You will come with us willingly or unwillingly. This one does not care which. Think carefully, cat."

Cinder stared with wide eyes, her breath quickening even more. She felt adrenaline rush through her, and the instinct to flee was so strong that she rushed right at the hanyou, knocking the girl over. Setsuko screeched in surprise, raising her clawed hands in an attempt to stop Cinder from escaping. Cinder, however, saw it coming and brought her own claws down, cutting deeply into Setsuko's face. The bird hanyou screeched, rolling away as she placed her hand on her wounded cheek. Cinder took her chance and ran. She was soon blocked by Sesshomaru. He glared down at her harshly, his fangs bared. "I warned you, cat."

OOOOO

"Jessabelle!" Sango screamed, hovering over the girl's body. "JESSABELLE!"

Miroku walked over from the demon corpse. He had made sure it was absolutely dead, and now was staring at his beloved and their friend with worry. "Is she okay?"

"No!" Sango cried. "She's not breathing!" Sango rarely lost it, but she couldn't help it. First Kohaku had been taken from her, and now Jessabelle too.

Miroku kneeled, staring the young miko in the face. Her eyes were still wide open, but they were blank yet filled with surprise. Blood completely covered her, dripping from the hole in her midsection onto the ground. He raised his hand to her neck, checking for a pulse. There was none. "We were too late."

"No," Sango whispered. "No."

"What's going on here?!" Jazline screamed, Tokage right behind her. They took in the bloody scene with Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara all hovering over Jessabelle.

Jazline threw herself onto the ground, sobs already escaping her as she touched her friend tenderly. "Oh no… no, no, no, no." She let out a hysterical scream, shaking the priestess back and forth. "She can't be dead!" She dug her fingers into the ground. With the blood and despair reaching her, her stomach twisted and Jazline vomited beside the corpse, tears flowing down her face like a river.

While they grieved, Naraku watched from close by, plotting against them. "Finally, they are weak."


	27. Chapter 27

InuYasha walked out of the forest with Kagome. They had been having a discussion with Kikyo, but it hadn't tuned out well and the dead priestess had left in a hurry. What met InuYasha and Kagome when they returned was horrifying and completely unexpected.

Blood carpeted the ground and the smell of death was potent in the air. The hanyou could hear Jazline and Sango shrieking and sobbing.

Kagome let out a terrified cry and ran straight towards them. InuYasha stayed behind for a moment to check for danger, but when he deemed there was none, he followed.

Kagome let out another scream, but this one was one of anguish. "Can't Sesshomaru revive her?!"

Miroku shook his head sadly. "It will be too late."

Jazline was inconsolable, and Tokage hovered over her, panic in his aura. Shippou—luckily—had fallen asleep and had not awoken yet due to some miracle, and so he had not yet witnessed this murder scene.

"NO!" Kagome cried, clutching the dead priestess' form in her hands. "No, she can't be dead!"

InuYasha kneeled down at her side, staring at the dead girl. There was no doubt that she was dead. There was so much blood spread out in the field he was surprised if any was left inside of her veins. The smell of it suffocated him. She was dead, very dead.

And so he bowed his head and grieved.

OOOOO

From the forest, the most curious of creatures watched the group. She was extremely confused. Why would they be sad? To her it was obvious that the creature that killed the girl was motivated by Midoriko, and so she knew the girl was now on the path of her fate. It was actually likely that she wouldn't remain dead for long.

The creature was not a demon, and it was not a human. Nor was it an animal. She was a spirit. Her name was Rena, and she was the spirit of frost. Her form was that of a simple but beautiful fox. She was a delightful spirit. She loved to laugh, and everything interested her. Though the winter frost was harsh and cruel, she was quite generous and kind. She had lived as long as there was to live, and she loved to give advice to others. The winter she owned was quite lovely, and so was her soul. Without her winter, no one would appreciate the warm and giving summer, and so it was critical for her dangerous season to exist. She kept the beings on earth appreciative, and in a way, sane. Without her, none would know of wintery beauty, and greed and chaos would run rampant throughout the land of Japan.

Her body was solid and yet it was slightly see through. Her fur sparkled with ice as she walked, creeping closer to the hysterical group. Rena didn't understand why they could not sense that the girl was with Midoriko. Were most beings so naïve to such obvious evidence? She flicked her tail back and forth, barely poking her nose out of the tree line to sniff the air. She imprinted each of their scents into her memory, planning on following them as they journeyed.

Rena watched as a few hours later they dug a hole and buried the girl. They marked the grave and then packed up and left, unable to stay in the clearing any longer. Rena waited until they were nowhere nearby until she left the safety of the trees. The ground froze beneath her paws, and her every exhale was visible. The air around her was freezing cold, convincing most to stay away from her.

She sat next to the grave, tilting her head to the side. They didn't stay with the girl…but how would they find her when she awakened? What dumb creatures. Rena nodded her head, deciding to bless the grave. She leaned down and blew one long breath over the area. Slowly, ice covered the grave, and it was obvious to everyone that winter had visited the dead priestess.

OOOOO

Sesshomaru tackled Cinder, pinning her to the ground and hissing in her face. "Why can you not control yourself, cat?"

Cinder growled in response, kicking at the demon lord with her clawed feet. Sesshomaru easily evaded the attack and then placed his knees over her legs, preventing any further movement.

Setsuko approached the two, blood steadily pouring down her face. She stared down at the neko demon. She didn't feel hate toward the girl, just sadness. Setsuko pitied Cinder for not even having control of her own mind, let alone her body. "Death has captured you."

Cinder hissed, spitting in Setsuko's face. Sesshomaru growled in response, slamming the cat demon's body into the ground as punishment. Cinder did nothing but glare.

Setsuko sighed. "Let's go back to the others now then."

Sesshomaru threw the thrashing neko demon over his shoulder and walked away from Setsuko.

The bird hanyou glared furiously at the demon lord for ignoring her again. "That arrogant prick! I try to help him and he repays me by pretending I don't exist." She rambled on and on as she followed Sesshomaru and Cinder at a distance.

OOOOO

Eyes watched Setsuko hungrily. He wanted her. He wanted all of her. Nothing would keep him from her. Not the Lord of the West or the walking pot. He would have her. She was his. The beautiful and royal bird hanyou was his. She was a child; she was naïve. It wouldn't be too hard for him to capture her, and he knew just how and when to do it. He remained in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to attack.


	28. Chapter 28

"You had to die," Midoriko said.

"What?" Jessabelle uttered in disbelief, taking a step back. "I'm dead?"

Midoriko nodded her head, gesturing behind her to Jazline and the two Cinders. "They have visited this realm, and you needed to also in order to defeat your worst enemy."

"I don't understand," Jessabelle cried as Midoriko began to vanish.

Midoriko gave her a small, sad smile. "Soon, Jessabelle. You will understand soon."

Jessabelle stared around herself. The vision that has once been her house was now nothing but pitch black darkness. Jessabelle wasn't even standing on anything; she was just hovering amidst the blackness. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the darkness began to shift. Color began sprouting along the edges of her vision, and then streaks of red, blue, purple, and yellow shot across her vision, staining the black with their magnificent contrast. The color began to take shape, forming a beautiful meadow.

Jessabelle suddenly felt her feet hit solid earth. She glanced down, seeing lush grass poking out from between her now bare toes. Confused, the priestess looked down at herself. Her hair was once again long, but her priestess garbs had not been returned. She now wore what she recognized as an outfit belonging to a wolf demon. Jessabelle looked at her hands, not noticing any claws. If she wasn't a wolf demon, then why was she wearing the clothes of one?

Wolves began to creep out of the bushes, and Jessabelle stared at them, startled. They couldn't kill her if she was already dead, but their carnivorous presence still wasn't calming. Suddenly, a giggle reached Jessabelle's ears. She turned around, coming face to face with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. The lady was a wolf demon. She had long black hair, and laughing brown eyes. Her bone structure was delicate, and she had a narrow nose set between high cheekbones. Her fluffy dark brown and tawny tail flicked behind her.

"Hello," the woman greeted. "I am Yana."

Jessabelle nodded in respect. "Hi, I'm Jessabelle. Who are you exactly? Where am I?"

Yana laughed loudly, grabbing Jessabelle's hand and dragging her along as she began to walk to the other side of the meadow, the wolves following close behind. "I am Yana, guardian of the wolves. We are in the realm of what exists but is not existing."

Jessabelle stared at her, not comprehending. "But that doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to," Yana responded, jumping onto a large rock and spinning around on it so that she faced Jessabelle. "I hear that your mate is a wolf demon."

"He's not my mate!" Jessabelle protested.

Yana smiled, giving Jessabelle a knowing look. "Not yet."

Jessabelle blushed harshly but didn't respond.

"I'm here to teach you the way of the wolves," Yana continued. A white wolf with unnatural blue eyes padded to her side. "This is Namida. She is your spirit wolf."

"My what?" Jessabelle questioned, watching as the pretty wolf made its way to stand in front of her.

Yana turned to look at the view of the meadow from her rock. "The others have learned their lessons of wisdom and power, even if they do not know it. Now it is your turn to learn like your friends have done. This wolf is a part of you. It holds the power of your soul that you cannot use, and so it is made of your spiritual energy. I am going to teach you how to train her."

Namida stood for a moment longer before bowing before Jessabelle, her muzzle touching the earth. Her bow was awkward compared to that of a human, but it was still graceful in the aura that it held. She let out a low whine.

"Touch her," Yana told her. To Jessabelle it sounded more like a command than anything else.

The priestess reached her hand out, her fingers briefly touching the soft fur of Namida's head. A power that stung much like electricity coursed up Jessabelle's arm, through her body, and then shot back into Namida.

Jessabelle snatched her hand back with a gasp, switching her gaze from the wolf to Yana. "What was that?"

Yana smiled, her eyes sparkling. "That was the power of your soul. That's what has lain dormant within you for so long. Now, with your death, it will be released."

Jessabelle scowled, turning to look at the many flowers that grew in the meadow instead of Yana's smirk. "But…how can it be released if I am dead?"

Yana laughed loudly, and Jessabelle glared at her. Yana held out her hand, waving it at the priestess as she tried to control herself. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just that it's hilarious to me that you think you are dead and worthless now."

"But Midoriko said I had died!" Jessabelle exclaimed. "Was she lying?"

"No," Yana answered. "But with the power of Midoriko and those in this realm, there has long been a plan to resurrect you so that you can defeat your greatest enemy."

Jessabelle took all this in, shocked. When she was able to speak again, she said, "Everyone keeps mentioning this greatest enemy of mine. Is it Naraku?"

Yana turned back to look at the meadow, almost as if she couldn't meet Jessabelle's eyes for too long. "You'll have to find that out for yourself."

Jessabelle nodded, uncertain of what to say. Fortunately, she didn't have to think for long. Namida sprang from where she had been bowing. She tackled Jessabelle to the ground, yipping excitedly. Jessabelle chuckled, thinking she very much resembled the dog she had at home. She looked at Yana's back from where she now was on the ground. "Well, I guess it's time to train."


End file.
